A Lily and James Story Part I Sixth Year
by panaginip02
Summary: Chap 11 up! Oh, the things that will happen during Christmas season! R&R please! I promise you, the story is better than my summary! (Pre-OotP for the most part)
1. Sidetracked

Author's note: Yay!!!! Sixth year has actually begun!!!! This'll be good, I promise! Read and review please!  
  
A Lily and James Story Part I: Sixth Year  
  
Chapter 1: Why witches should never get re-associated with old muggle friends.  
  
Lily woke up early on September 1, the day she would be returning to Hogwarts. She was going to the station with Alaina, Jonathan and Jillian today; her parents had to be in work by the time the train left at 11 am. Petunia was most certainly able to drive her, but made the excuse that she had something really important to do and thus couldn't do it. Lily lugged down her bags, thank and Lizzie downstairs to the living room and then went back upstairs to get ready for the long trip to Hogwarts. She came back downstairs at 9 am.  
  
"I'm running late!!!!"  
  
All three of them would be there in half an hour's time and she hadn't even eaten her breakfast. The doorbell rang a few minutes later. Lily anxiously checked who was outside the door from the window. Eilis was standing on her doorstep wearing casual clothes and her backpack.  
  
'Please say this will go well,' she thought.  
  
Lily opened the door.  
  
"Well, this is a surprise....... hi........ um, what are you doing here?"  
  
Eilis made a questioning face.  
  
"Have you forgotten already? Didn't you get a letter from school a few days ago?"  
  
"Yeah. but I don't go there anymore so I ripped it up and put it in into the recycling bag."  
  
"YOU DID WHAT?????"  
  
"Listen to me Eilis, I'm going back to boarding school!"  
  
Eilis took a step inside the house.  
  
"No you're not. I did research to find out what school you go to... there is no record of a school anywhere up there... you lied to me! You've been getting homeschooled, haven't you? So, I personally made sure that you were enrolled here. No transcript, but heck, you're in, so come on!"  
  
Then she took a glance at Lily's supplies.  
  
"Cruelty to animals! Who do you think you are keeping a beautiful owl from where it belongs?"  
  
Before Lily could protest, Eilis grabbed Lizzie's cage and opened it. Lizzie flew out of sight.  
  
"Eilis, she's my pet!"  
  
"Well. too bad."  
  
She moved to Lily's trunk. Eilis tried to open it, but couldn't. Lily was grateful that she had put a charm in which Lily was the only one who could open the trunk. Eilis stood up.  
  
"Whatever, come on."  
  
She yanked Lily out of the door and to her mother's car. Without saying a word, Eilis' mother drove them to school. Eilis took grab of Lily and led her over to their classroom. Lily thought of something: the last time she was with James. The mood swing then was natural, but now, she would have to make her mood swings purposely. Lily took a seat that had her individual schedule and sat down. She laid her head down on it and appeared to be taking a nap. Everyone kept away from Lily. It was against school rules to sleep there. Lily soon heard a person walk into the classroom, so she raised her head.  
  
"Good morning, welcome back to school. My name is Mr. Richet," he said.  
  
He had a baritone voice, just like one of the teachers at Hogwarts. He continued on saying,  
  
"Same old process of orientation today, so is there anyone here who's new and need a fill-in?"  
  
Lily raised her hand and Mr. Richet look towards her.  
  
"Ah, a new student! And your name is.........."  
  
"Lily Evans."  
  
Some of her old classmates recognized the name and turned towards her.  
  
"Hey Lily!" "Where've you been?" "Been a while!" "Good to see you again!"  
  
She grinned at them. Lily planned to throw her mood swings soon enough. Orientation was quite simple, in Mr. Richet's lecture. There was going to be an assembly, distribution of locker numbers and then half an hour in each of their classes so their teachers could tell them what further supplies they needed for classes, distribution of textbooks, so on and so forth. In one of her classes, Lily looked at the clock. 10:50 am........ how dearly she wanted to be at the Hogwarts Express.... then she felt another real mood swing come on....... feeling a surge of anger, she yelled in anguish rather loudly, getting the attention of everybody else in the classroom.  
  
"Miss Evans, please explain why you did that," her math teacher demanded.  
  
"Explain? Okay.I'm not even supposed to be here, I was falsely enrolled in here by somebody else, no idea, but I need to get to my school!"  
  
Her math teacher shook his head.  
  
"You poor girl......Lauren, please show Lily to the nurse's office where she can calm down."  
  
"Please don't tell me you don't believe me!" Lily protested helplessly. Then Lauren pulled her out of the classroom towards the nurse's office.  
  
At Platform 9 3/4, Alaina, Jillian and Jonathan had just entered the barrier. It was Lily's fault they had gotten there late; Alaina had been waiting outside Lily's doorstep for a bit more than 15 minutes. With her parents' car gone, they then assumed that Lily's parents had just driven her over there at the last second. After having cleared their luggage away, they started looking for Lily in the train compartments. None of the Gryffindor sixth year girls had seen Lily at all that morning and she was most certainly not in the prefects' compartment. Lily said she'd much rather be with her friends than with other prefects.  
  
Five minutes to departure, Jonathan spotted the Marauders in their compartment. He knocked on the glass. James looked up and answered the door.  
  
"Hey, you're Jonathan, right?" James said cheerfully.  
  
"Yeah. hey, have any of you seen Lily this morning? She wasn't home when we were supposed to pick her up to come here."  
  
James' morale plummeted. "You mean she's not here? I haven't seen her at all so far."  
  
Then he turned to the rest of the Marauders and asked them also. None of the three boys had seen her either. Alaina spotted Jonathan and went over to him.  
  
"Lily's definitely not on the train, what should we do?"  
  
"Send out an owl of course!" "Can't be done, all owls are kept away until we arrive in Hogsmeade."  
  
Then the train pulled out of the station.  
  
"Too late to go back to her house now," James helplessly noted.  
  
Lily was lying down on the nurse's patient bed staring at the clock most of the time. The nurse observed her closely. When the clock struck 11, she started softly singing:  
  
"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts, Teach us something we please, whether we be old or bald or young with scabby knees, our heads could do with filling with some interesting stuff, for now they're bare and full of air, dead files and bits of fluff. So teach us things worth knowing, bring back what we've forgot, just do your best, we'll do the rest, and learn until our brains all rot."  
  
The nurse gave Lily an odd glance then looked away.  
  
'I've had some students do strange stuff, but that was the most ridiculous song I've ever heard,' the nurse thought to herself.  
  
The rest of the day went quietly. At noontime, Eilis went to the nurse's office to pick up Lily. They both went to Eilis' house, a rather foolish move, Lily thought. Her Hogwarts stuff was still at home and she knew that when her parents saw her stuff still there, they would fear the worst.  
  
"Mrs. Pepnin, I can't believe you're actually doing this to me." she complained as they entered the Pepnin residence.  
  
Eilis cautiously went up to her room, hoping not to be noticed. Mrs. Pepnin turned to Lily.  
  
"Whatever are you talking about? Eilis told me that you transferred back and that you two agreed to carpool."  
  
"That was all against my will and knowledge, Mrs. Pepnin," Lily said quietly.  
  
Mrs. Pepnin let out a small gasp and covered her mouth with her hand. Lily continued on,  
  
"My school started today. We get there by a train that only brings us to school and then back home at the end of term. I have no way of contacting my school as I lost the one thing for contact by Eilis."  
  
It was starting to get a bit unbearable for Lily to keep on going. Mrs. Pepnin understood how Lily felt at the moment and went up to Eilis' room. Lily went to the living room and laid down on the couch. Lily wondered how she would be able to go back to school. Then she cringed as she heard Eilis' mom yell at Eilis upstairs. Lily really hadn't wanted Eilis to get in big trouble. Some time later, the phone rang. Mrs. Pepnin abruptly stopped yelling and went to answer the phone.  
  
"Hello, Lauren Pepnin speaking. oh, yes, hello Mrs. Evans."  
  
Lily's head jerked up at the last word she had just heard. Her parents must be worried sick about her; Petunia probably didn't care. Lily put her head back down on the couch again. She soon fell asleep. Some time later, Lily was reawaken by her parents gently shaking her to get off the couch.  
  
"Come now Lily, it's time to go home."  
  
Lily felt awkward when she left the Pepnin residence. It was wonderful to be with her parents, but the place she most wanted to be in most was Hogwarts.  
  
'They must be having the feast now,' Lily thought. 


	2. Lily's Going Back!

Author's note: YAY! A review!!!!!! Good progress! Here comes chapter two. did anyone have a feeling the events in chapter one were coming up? Yes? No? I'm trying to make this story as unique as possible but still keeping certain qualities of characters steady. I've even started drawing out some of my characters and writing out family trees, trying to figure out who should marry who for the existence of the characters in JK Rowling's story. It's going pretty darn well. I don't have a webpage or anything, so I can't put the pictures up. Okay, me thinks this's enough rambling; on with the story!!!!!  
  
Disclaimer: Everything in this story belongs to JK Rowling. Any character that seems unfamiliar belongs to me, I just don't feel like going through my notebook to pick out all the characters that I created!  
  
Chapter Two- Lily's Going Back!  
  
Lily was close enough. At the moment, all the new students had just been sorted and Dumbledore was giving the announcements.  
  
"Welcome again to all returning students and a most warm welcome to our first years and our three transfers. A reminder to everyone to keep away from the Whomping Willow at all times, as there is no need for a repeat of last year," he said, glancing at Davy in Slytherin.  
  
"Let's see, what else. please be mindful of your Head Boy and Girl, prefects and professors if any of you wish to have your House win the House Cup this year. Mr. Filch has been working on a list of banned items the whole summer so stop by his office whenever you can to see the list. Now that that's all settled, enjoy."  
  
Dumbledore clapped his hands together and with the appearance of food at each House's table, the Beginning Feast commenced. Sirius nudged James.  
  
"James, hey, take a look over there. Lucius is Head Boy."  
  
Lucius was a stern Slytherin seventh year whose goal in life seemed to see the Marauders get expelled. James forced a grin, he was still worried about Lily.  
  
"We're the Marauders, and no Head Boy, even Lucius, can stop us," he stated, then reached out for more food.  
  
McGonagall was missing from the staff table; James had told her about Lily the moment he saw her and she went off to send an owl to ask the Ministry to fetch Lily if possible. Flitwick had helped in the Sorting instead. The other Gryffindor sixth year girls were quiet and sullen with Lily gone, except Jillian maybe, who was glancing hopefully at James about every five seconds. She admitted to herself that with Lily gone, it'd be much easier to get to James. Jillian had broken up with her boyfriends of two years a week ago. Then she shook the thought out of her head. Jillian definitely did not want to be like a Slytherin. She was proud of the House she was in.  
  
After the Feast was over, the Gryffindors went up to the Tower and headed for their dormitories. Before the sixth years went to sleep, McGonagall told them that they had gotten in touch with Lily's parents and that Ministry officials would accompany Lily on a small train to Hogwarts, as to not repeat the 'incident', as McGonagall stated it and she would be arriving the following evening. The sixth years were curious as to what the 'incident' was, but McGonagall refused to answer any questions.  
  
Lily went through insomnia that night. As soon as she had arrived back home, owls had started coming from the Ministry, so with answering letters, waiting for replies and calling the local school district to withdraw Lily from the list of students, that all took about four hours. She had settled in bed by eleven o' clock in the evening but couldn't make herself to go to sleep. With all that cleared out, all her thoughts went to Hogwarts; which houses Alaina and Jonathan were put in, how Jillian was doing, but mostly, how many people had noticed she was missing. Finally, just before she went off to sleep at two in the morning, she softly said,  
  
"Whoever reported I was missing is about to become one of my best friends."  
  
Lily's parents took the day off from work to drive her all the way to King's Cross. Petunia had to go to school and was quite relieved that she did. They took her as far as the platforms, where Mrs. Lischt, a ministry official and the engineer went through the barrier. Nothing much happened on the trip and Lily got there safe and sound. McGonagall and Hagrid met Lily at the Hogsmeade Station. Hagrid smiled at Lily.  
  
"Good ter to see yeh, Lily. The trip went well?"  
  
"Very well, thank you Hagrid." Then Lily turned to McGonagall.  
  
"Good evening, Professor."  
  
"Good evening. Dinner has just begun in the Great Hall. You may join your schoolmates if you want, though if you don't wish to attract attention, you may go straight up to Gryffindor Tower and eat your dinner up there."  
  
Lily considered for a moment, then realized how tired she was.  
  
" I think I'd best go to the Tower," Lily said. McGonagall nodded sharply.  
  
"Very well then. Your baggage is already being brought up. Come now, it's starting to get a bit chilly."  
  
They started walking towards the castle. Right before McGonagall and Hagrid entered the Great Hall, Lily felt the need to ask a question.  
  
"Professor McGonagall?" She turned to Lily.  
  
"Yes Lily?"  
  
"Do you know who reported I was missing?" McGonagall knew Lily probably didn't want to hear who it was.  
  
"I know who it is, but you probably wouldn't believe me. Knowing you, I believe you'll find out who it is very soon. It's a Gryffindor by the way, to make your search easier." She then smiled and went into the Great Hall.  
  
Lily hastily made her way up to the dormitory. On the way up, she was delighted to see a house elf. She requested to the house elf to have her dinner up in her dormitory in Gryffindor Tower and the house elf was more than happy to help, skipping away to the kitchen to fetch some food. Lily grinned as she made further way to the Tower. Sixth Year had never sounded so good.  
  
Soon after Lily started eating her dinner, the rest of the girls bounded into their dormitory. They were really excited to see Lily and bombarded her with hugs, despite Lily's warnings of her dinner being right on a very nice bed that she didn't want to get ruined on the first night. Then Lily saw Jonathan stick his head in.  
  
"Hey Lily."  
  
"Mr. Jonathan Rindel, you are in a girls' dormitory. Further movement into the room will take away 10 points from Gryffindor." Jonathan stayed where he was.  
  
"Well Miss Lily Evans, nobody has quite explained the House points to me and I was wondering if a good prefect like yourself would kindly explain in to me." Lily turned to other girls.  
  
"What do you think? Should we let him in?" As expected, the girls generally let any Gryffindor guy enter their room, just not the Marauders because they liked their room the way it was and hoped to keep it that way.  
  
After Lily had finished explaining the House Points, Jonathan did what he did best while his little sister wasn't around with her new found attitude: making people laugh hysterically. Jonathan started telling the girls about an incident that occurred during his sixth year at Beauxbatons and was making them crack up every few seconds. Lily remembered the story, as Jonathan told her the same story some time ago in the summer and so wandered around the dormitory, counting the beds, as if to find out if Alaina had also been sorted into Gryffindor or not. A few minutes later, she found out Alaina was sorted into Ravenclaw. With that, Lily sent Jonathan off back to his dormitory. More of shoved him out the door and locked it right after him.  
  
Several of the girls complained afterwards saying,  
  
"Why'd you do that?"  
  
"He wasn't doing anything wrong!"  
  
"So his sister's in Ravenclaw. at least you'll have some classes with her!"  
  
"Jonathan's so sweet, I can't believe you did that!" Lily just put their comments aside and prepared for bed. Right before she went to sleep, she looked around the sleepy dormitory.  
  
"Yeah, Jonathan is kind of sweet."  
  
  
  
Hope you all liked that!!!! Next is chapter three.. say hello again to a recurring character!!! Read and review please!!!!! 


	3. First Day Back!

Author's note: Here comes chapter three!!!!! More people are talking in this. more with Jonathan, an introduction with one of Lily's dorm mates.. And the reintroduction to another character! No, I'm not telling you who it is right now! You must READ!!!! And review. That'd be nice.  
  
Disclaimer: Anything or anyone familiar belongs to JK Rowling. everything else that doesn't sound so familiar belongs to me!!!  
  
Chapter Three- First day back!  
  
Lily was fairly satisfied with her schedule. For Wednesday at least. She first had Charms with the rest of the sixth year Gryffindors, double Potions with the Slytherins, lunch, Ancient Runes with some Gryffindors and finally double Transfiguration with Ravenclaws, the only class she had that day with Alaina. Lily rushed into Transfiguration late since her Ancient Runes teacher insisted on giving her all the assignments she missed from the day before. By the time Lily rushed into the Transfiguration classroom, McGonagall was observing the students' work transfiguring Asian porcelain figures into Native American figures. McGonagall looked up when Lily came in.  
  
"Sorry Professor, Professor Carlson talked to me a bit longer than I hoped it would have been."  
  
"That's fine, you can sit. over there." McGonagall pointed out a desk where a Ravenclaw was sitting by himself. Lily walked over to the desk and sat down on the chair.  
  
"Hello," she said cheerfully as she got started on the Transfiguration.  
  
The Ravenclaw turned to her to say hello as well, but as soon as Lily saw him and he saw her, she let out a gasp and he fell off his chair, both making a racket in the silent classroom. Some of the other students started murmuring and McGonagall rushed to their desk.  
  
"What happened? Are both of you alright?"  
  
Lily helped the fallen Ravenclaw up.  
  
"Everything's fine, Professor," she said calmly.  
  
Feeling she could trust Lily, McGonagall nodded and continued walking around the class. Lily glanced at the Ravenclaw and went to transfiguring. When Lily and her friends were making their way towards the Great Hall after class, it was clear to most that Lily greatly disliked the Ravenclaw, no matter how much she tried to restrain it. Hogwarts had always been a wonderful refuge but this time, it couldn't keep her away from Alex, who had hidden the fact he was a wizard very well. She stayed silent for most of the evening. That had changed when Lily and her friends finished eating dinner and went up to Gryffindor Tower. Jillian had pointed out that James and his friends had left dinner very early that evening and had gone back to the Tower, so they were all probably going to be facing a hilarious, fun filled evening.  
  
Jillian's thoughts were right; as soon as they stepped into the Common Room, the Marauders sprang at them and revealed the common room prepared for a party, with stuff exclusively from Hogsmeade. The other sixth years then came in and joined in the party that Sirius dubbed, "The Lily Evans' Return Party!" Half an hour later, Lily was talking to Remus over the noise that everyone else was making. Most of the Gryffindors (from all levels now) had joined in on the party at Sirius' and James' invitation.  
  
"So. which of you four came up with the idea of a party for me?" Lily asked.  
  
Remus chuckled after he drank some butterbeer. "I didn't come up with this idea, so you have three choices left: Peter, James or Sirius." Lily nodded, keeping her thoughts to herself. It had been so sweet of the guys to throw a party for her. She wondered why they did it though. Probably James had, with the events that had occurred during the summer, but Sirius loved to throw parties for pretty much no reason at all. Sometime later, Jonathan took a seat beside Lily.  
  
"Hello!" he said cheerfully.  
  
She looked at him disappointedly.  
  
"You're on a sugar rush."  
  
"I know, but what can I do?" Jonathan said after drinking more butterbeer.  
  
Lily snatched the bottle away from him.  
  
"What can you do? Go to your dormitory and sleep."  
  
"But I'm not sleepy." he protested.  
  
"In a little while you will be. and, if you don't go now, I'll make sure to tell Alaina about your behavior here."  
  
Lily did mean it; she loved the fact that Alaina was fitting comfortably into the role of older sibling of Jonathan rather than vice versa. Jonathan grunted and went up to his dormitory. Ashley then took Jonathan's empty seat.  
  
"Hey, welcome back girl!"  
  
Ashley was one of the most friendly and outgoing girls Lily ever met, so it was natural that Lily converted her mood from serious to light.  
  
"Hey Ashley! How has it been in the dormitory before I returned?"  
  
"Nothing's ever the same when you're gone, to be honest. Mm, now you've got a seventh year going after you."  
  
"Jonathan?"  
  
"Yeah, that's him, the one from last night."  
  
"He is not going after me!" Lily exclaimed amusedly.  
  
She stood up and started making her way up to the dormitory and Ashley continued following her. Lily could tell Ashley was going to talk more about Jonathan, so she said,  
  
" Don't talk me into something that I shouldn't have to go through. His sister is one of my best friends. His sister is one of my best friends. He's more of a brother to me than anything else."  
  
Ashley laughed.  
  
"Mm, yeah. That's what you're saying now. You just might be saying something else two months from now."  
  
"Okay Ashley, we'll see, we'll see." Lily pulled out her pajamas for bed.  
  
"So are you going back to the party Ashley?"  
  
"Indeed I am, it's not everyday we have a party here, especially with McGonagall as the Head of our House. Are you sure you want to sleep now? It's only 11:30 pm."  
  
"Homework and then I'm going to sleep. I'm so relieved school's only started; there's not a lot of homework tonight."  
  
"Oh yeah, I forgot about homework. Well. I'll do it when I wake up, no problem." Ashley broke into a grin and then said,  
  
" If I'm not back by the time you finish your homework, good night!" She then waved and went back down to the common room. Lily smiled in response, then went to set up her homework. 


	4. Quidditch Practice!

Author's note: Another review for chapter three!! Yay! Thanks Jenn!!!!! Here comes chapter four!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Disclaimer: Just read my other disclaimers. I can't think of any other way of saying what I've said before. I'm a bit lazy right now!  
  
Chapter Four- Quidditch practice  
  
Weeks passed by and Halloween was a few short days away. It wasn't Lily's favorite holiday, but with the Hogsmeade visit and the Feast, it was a day worth looking forward to. The next holiday would be Christmas, almost two months away and Halloween festivities managed to keep Lily sane despite all the homework she was being assigned and her duties as prefect. Being a prefect wasn't too bad actually; to Lily it seemed like being a big sister to fourth years and under. The Tuesday before Halloween, which fell on a Saturday that year, Lily took note of the Quidditch openings on each team on a sign in the common room after classes. Gryffindor needed two new chasers. Lily sighed. From what she saw of the games, Quidditch seemed like the kind of sport she would want to play, despite her current in capabilities on a broomstick. She hadn't been on one since first year lessons; she was actually a good flier, but her extensive studying kept her far away from the Quidditch field. Camille, one of the girls in Lily's dorm, entered the common room and as soon as she saw Lily, walked over there.  
  
"Lily. are you planning to try out for the Quidditch team? It'd be nice if you did."  
  
Camille was one of the team's beaters. Even if she didn't look aggressive in school, she most certainly was on the Quidditch field. Lily shook her head sadly.  
  
"I'm too busy to juggle schoolwork, prefect duties and Quidditch practices and games all together."  
  
"Well, if James can, you can also. You do know James is captain this year, right?" "Really? I think he plays okay." Lily said, making Camille frown.  
  
"Just okay?" Lily shrugged.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"James is one of the best chasers Hogwarts has seriously ever known. you need to watch more Quidditch games, Lily. Tell you what, there's practice for returning members tonight, some time after dinner. You should come." Camille offered.  
  
Lily suddenly felt uneasy, fearing a team member might dare her to fly.  
  
"Oh, I don't know. I still have homework to do and it'll take a while..."  
  
"Are you sure?" Camille put on a sad face.  
  
"Oh fine, I'll see how it goes. Jus as long as I sit in the stands, I suppose I'll be okay."  
  
"Hey, we work hard and we hardly play around during practice, so no balls would be aimed towards you."  
  
Two and a half hours later, roughly 6 in the evening, lily walked towards the Quidditch field with Camille. Tryouts for the team had been right after classes, so Gryffindor had two new Chasers: Sean, a fourth year, and Sophia, a third year. They wouldn't be joining practice until the following week since James had to first drill them on the basics. Lily slipped into the shadows and made her way up to the Gryffindor stands while Camille joined the rest of the team. The chasers were James (sixth year), Sophia (third year), and Sean (fourth year). The two beaters were Camille (sixth year) and Cameron (fifth year). Anna (fifth year) was the seeker and Liam (fifth year) was the keeper. They had done several laps around the field before practicing dealing the Quaffle, golf balls and the beaters' bats. Camille hadn't old anyone that Lily was there since she didn't want to be noticed. However, during the passing of the Quaffle, James noticed that somebody was in the Gryffindor stands.  
  
"Who's sitting over there?" he curiously asked to nobody in particular before starting to fly out to the stand where Lily was sitting.  
  
Camille, who was helping out Anna by throwing golf balls to her, saw James heading towards the stands. Knowing that Lily wouldn't want to be seen, she chucked one of the golf balls at James' head. It didn't hit him, but James saw the object coming towards him and went out to catch it.  
  
"Gotcha!" he said gleefully but swept into panic when he lost balance on his broom.  
  
Before anyone could go out to catch him, James fell and hit the ground hard. Lily had seen the whole thing and rushed down to see what happened. She got there the same time as the rest of the team. Liam was the first to step up to check James, who seemed to be unconscious.  
  
"Blimey, he fell gain! Well at least we're on practice right now."  
  
Cameron added in, "Yeah, he manages to fall off his broom once every few practices. And then he pretends to be knocked out."  
  
Cameron stuck his foot into James' side. "Come on, James, stop playing around, there's another half hour left," he said but to no response.  
  
"Guys," Lily said shakily.  
  
"I don't think he's playing around."  
  
"How would you know?" Liam asked testily.  
  
"My dad is frail and can go unconscious easily and often. I know when somebody's unconscious by now. We'll take him to the hospital wing, who's going to help me?"  
  
Fifteen minutes later, Lily and Cameron, with the rest of the Quidditch team behind them, carried James into the hospital wing. Madame Pomfrey was disappointed that James had fallen once again but relieved none of them took their time getting James to the hospital wing. Then she sent everybody out. They went back to the field to retrieve their belongings and headed back up to the Tower since their captain was lying unconscious in the hospital wing. Camille and Lily talked on the way back to the Tower. Camille was almost unrecognizable with her rosy cheeks, tossed around hair and lively enthusiasm from practice.  
  
"So, what'd you think of it, besides that incident?"  
  
Lily shrugged.  
  
"It was cool, you're all really good players."  
  
"Thanks!"  
  
"You're welcome, but tell me, does James really fall down as often as mentioned?"  
  
Camille nodded fervently.  
  
"Oh yeah, about two times a month. Some say he falls through lack of focus, people make him fall, others say because of inefficient use of the broomstick. Just to name those. I think he just does it to get a kick out of scaring us."  
  
'Typical," Lily sighed as they went into the common room.  
  
As soon as she could, after finding out James was still in the wing, Lily went to pay him a visit. When she arrived at his bed, he had bandages on his left arm and by the look he had, Lily could tell he was feeling nothing less than restless.  
  
"Good morning," he said as she approached him.  
  
"Hi James, how're you doing?"  
  
"Mm, what an uninteresting question," James said irritably.  
  
Lily shrugged.  
  
"I'll just go then." and turned away to leave.  
  
"Wait," James called.  
  
Lily turned around.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Why'd you come?"  
  
"I saw you fall, helped carry you up here. it seemed natural to come check on how you're doing."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
Then Lily suddenly remembered something she meant to ask.  
  
"James, do you know who told McGonagall that I wasn't here on the first day"  
  
James tensed up.  
  
"Why do you want to know?"  
  
"That person's about to become a good friend of mine. Only one person reported I was missing and it's not any of my friends. I asked."  
  
Just when James was about to say it was him, Madame Pomfrey noticed Lily.  
  
"Lily! What are you doing here? Go on to class now."  
  
She took Lily and led her to the door.  
  
"I'll come by again later," she called out to James before Madame Pomfrey closed the door behind her.  
  
James sighed.  
  
"Darn." 


	5. The South Tower

Author's note: I HAVE RETURNED!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've been awfully lazy lately. take note that my recently written stories are a lot shorter than previous others have been.If it's gonna make you guys feel better, this is a LONG chapter. to me, at least. I'm tempted to split it in half, but who knows when I would put up the second half? So I'll give you the whole chapter! Doesn't that make you all feel special?  
  
Disclaimer: Same as before. unfamiliar characters belong to me; familiar ones belong to JK Rowling.  
  
Chapter 5- The South Tower  
  
James was released two days later and reentered the common room in a sour mood because Lily had forgotten to visit him again. His mood changed when he entered the dormitory, where the Marauders were alone doing their homework.  
  
"Hey, I'm back. what've I missed?"  
  
Remus stood up from his bed.  
  
"The full moon's tomorrow, so we'd best go to Hogsmeade tonight. Oh and by the way, welcome back!"  
  
Sirius and Peter were ashamed of not welcoming James back right away, Peter merely muttered, "Welcome back," while Sirius ran up to him.  
  
"Welcome back! So hey, is the team ready for the game against Ravenclaw next Saturday?"  
  
James sighed.  
  
"Sirius."  
  
"What?"  
  
"You shouldn't have reminded me about that. now I have to go schedule training sessions with Sean and Sophia. Get on your way to the Three Broomsticks, I'll go meet you there in a little while." As James went down to the fourth years' boys' dormitory to find Sean, he heard Remus scold Sirius saying,  
  
"What kind of a welcome was that? He was relaxed before you asked him that. Now he's going to get stressed again!"  
  
"What? He's missed two days of classes and Quidditch practice. the stress had to return anyway!"  
  
Then James smirked when he heard Remus bang his head a couple of times on a bedpost and Peter laughing hysterically. He ran back up to his dormitory.  
  
"Change of plan, bring the cloak with you and just wait for me outside the statue. Then we'll go together," he said as he took the Marauders Map (which they created especially for when Remus transformed each month) and put it in his back pocket.  
  
After seeing Sean and Sophia, who were both in the library, James made his way towards the statue of the one-eyed witch when Jillian spotted him in one of the corridors. Before James could go hide himself somewhere, Jillian approached him.  
  
"James! Hey, where've you been these past few days?" she asked sweetly.  
  
James decided to shoot her down.  
  
"Who in the heck are you?" he said, shaking his head as he continued on the way to the statue.  
  
"Jillian Conten. come on, I know you know me."  
  
She moved in front of James like a barrier. James was the point where he knew he'd throw a fit, but luckily, he spotted Lily coming down the hall. With a low motion of his hand, he motioned Lily to come get Jillian while talking to her.  
  
"Look, I'm too busy right now to stop and talk right now; I'm pressed for time, really," James said anxiously.  
  
Jillian looked confused for a moment, then said,  
  
"Oh, so you're headed to the South Tower? Are you meeting someone there?" James improvised on the situation. It would be a while before he could get to Hogsmeade.  
  
"Yeah, I'm going there with someone."  
  
"Oh, can I go with you?"  
  
"No you can't, I'm going on prefect duty. with Lily." Then he broke eye contact with Jillian and shifted to Lily, who had just reached them. Lily had a slight idea of what was going on; Jillian was trying to flirt with James, but he wanted to be anywhere else in the school, perhaps even Filch's office, than there.  
  
"Here I am, sorry I took a while, I cleared out the West Tower by myself in half an hour. And that's supposed to be the easiest place to clear out all the lovebirds in this school."  
  
James nodded.  
  
"Ok, well, um, see you later Jillian. You should get back to the common room; it's getting late and if any teachers see you, Gryffindor might lose house points."  
  
Jillian faked a sigh and turned around to leave.  
  
"Ok, I'll go back to the common room and find something to do."  
  
As she walked further and further away from the corridor, she was dismayed that James, or Lily, did not call her back.  
  
James turned to Lily once he was sure Jillian was out of hearing distance.  
  
"Um, so. do you want to go up to the South Tower anyway. for prefect duty I mean," he said, turning a bit red mid-sentence.  
  
Lily smiled in response to James' redness. "Fine with me, except I've never been there so you'll have to lead the way."  
  
He made sure to pass by the statue of the one eyed witch to give to the other three boys the Marauders' Map to show he wasn't going to Hogsmeade. Once James gave it to him, Sirius took the map under the cloak, opened it, put his wand on its surface and said softly, "I solemnly swear I'm up to no good," and the map of Hogwarts and its inhabitants appeared before their eyes.  
  
"So, where is Prongs going? And with who." Remus said, looking for James' dot. Surprisingly, Peter was the first to find him with.  
  
"Lily???? And they're heading to the South Tower!"  
  
Sirius let out a huge grin.  
  
"Ah, don't we all love second chances. how about we all ask him how it went later?"  
  
Remus and Peter nodded and Peter then said,  
  
"Now can we go to Hogsmeade?"  
  
"Dissendium!"  
  
Remus cast the spell on the statue after making absolute sure nobody was around. The three boys made their way to Hogsmeade. James led Lily to the top of the South Tower and upon finding nobody there (which was a first!), the two sat down on chairs to rest before making their way downstairs.  
  
"Lily?"  
  
"Hm?"  
  
"Thanks for paying me a visit the other day in the hospital wing."  
  
"You're welcome, but I'm sorry I didn't go to visit you again."  
  
"Mm, why didn't you come back?"  
  
"Something came up."  
  
"Do you want to talk about it?"  
  
Lily was quiet for a while, then said,  
  
"Do you remember me talking about Alex over the summer?"  
  
"I met him when we were all at that restaurant during break, yeah."  
  
"Well, it turns out that he's a new student here."  
  
James' head sharply turned to her.  
  
"That's got to be torture."  
  
Lily nodded.  
  
"Exactly. He was out of my life for a while, and now I have to encounter him everyday all over again. At least I don't have to talk to him, but still, yes, it's torture."  
  
"If I may ask, what actually went wrong between Alex and you?"  
  
Lily smiled. No one had ever asked her that and was pleased with that fact.  
  
"For one thing, I saw him everyday and the pleasure of seeing Alex ceased. And then when our parents started talking about betrothal, his personality changed, like he owned me or something. I need my personal space; I can't handle the same person always being with me. Maybe when I decide to get married, but not now."  
  
"You're planning to get married?"  
  
"It's very possible. I don't know to whom, but I have many years ahead of me before time runs out."  
  
"Lily! Don't think about that yet! Life should be taken little by little, otherwise you're rushing yourself."  
  
"I'm not rushing myself."  
  
"Good."  
  
They smiled at each other, but before anything else could happen, they saw somebody standing in front of them with a cold smirk on his face. It was Lucius Malfoy.  
  
"Well, well, well. Lily Evans and James Potter together at the South Tower. I'm surprised."  
  
Lily was speechless; it was the first time this sort of thing had happened to her. James was also like that for a moment but nervously said,  
  
"This is not what it looks like, Lucius."  
  
"Are you sure? Alone in the South Tower, inches away from each other's faces. I still keep my opinion. Now as far as taking points." Lucius thought hastily,  
  
"Ah. twenty points each from Gryffindor for sneaking around the castle after curfew."  
  
Lily snapped to life.  
  
"But we're prefects, and the only difference between you and us is that you can take away house points!" she said angrily.  
  
"Fine," Lucius said coolly.  
  
"Since this is the first time prefects had ever done this, you're clear. Otherwise, don't expect me to be this nice. Now get out of here, there's some business I have to settle."  
  
A minute later, Lily and James were halfway through making their way down the tower. Neither of them had talked since their encounter with Lucius.  
  
"Lily?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Sorry you had to go through that, but you made a very good point about the difference between Heads and Prefects. Is there anything I can do to make up for it?"  
  
Lily was surprised at the offer. Not only that, but she didn't know how to answer.  
  
"I can't think of anything right now."  
  
James silently prayed it was the right time to say it.  
  
"Do you still want to know who said to McGonagall that you weren't on the train September 1?"  
  
Lily perked up.  
  
"Oh yes, please, tell me who it was."  
  
James stopped, took a deep breath and said,  
  
"It was me."  
  
Lily stopped short and turned to him.  
  
"Really?" she asked softly.  
  
James merely nodded. Lily smiled at him. Her smile was so enchanting that he couldn't help but smiling as well. Then he came up with an idea. He continued down the stairs.  
  
"Come on Lily, I want to show you something," he called.  
  
Lily quickly followed him.  
  
"What're you going to show me?"  
  
They reached the door leading back into the castle, but before Lily could say anything, James whispered into her ear saying,  
  
"Be absolutely quiet, stay by me, and you'll find out soon."  
  
Lily nodded and both slipped into the castle. 


	6. James' Private Room

Author's Note: New chapter after a bit of a break. hope you enjoy this chapter. it's different from most chapters, but it should be good enough. now we're on summer vacation, I'll have a lot more time to upload chapters. I'm nearly done handwriting chapter eight. which'll be a good chapter. And since I finished reading OotP last night. I'm going to follow how they treated each other there a bit more closely. so be prepared!!!! I wrote it down in Chapter 8 already.  
  
Chapter 6- James' Private Room  
  
James led Lily to the base of Gryffindor Tower. She had never been to that particular area before, so James had to pull her along so they wouldn't slow down and get caught. As they walked on, they met a dead end. Lily gave James a questioning look as he pulled out his wand and tapped the wall in the shape of a circle. The wall silently opened to reveal a large room with light blue walls, a fireplace, pillows, couch and table. As soon as the two entered, the wall closed silently behind them.  
  
"Is it all yours?" Lily asked curiously after taking a look around.  
  
James stood nervously by the entrance with his hands in his pocket.  
  
"Yeah. it's all mine. Sirius and Remus have their own hidden rooms around Hogwarts. Peter didn't even bother because the dormitory is quiet if any of us sleep in these rooms over night. Lily. can you sit down for a while?"  
  
"Okay."  
  
Lily took one end of the couch and James took the other end.  
  
"Oh God, how am I going to say this???" James nervously mumbled, running this hands through his hair.  
  
"Er. okay, I can do this." He started to turn a bit red in the face.  
  
Lily played around with a strand of her hair while James was trying to find the right words to say. Of course, by the situation, Lily knew what he wanted to say and more than likely would try to ask her out. that was the dream of many girls around the school. But why her? Maybe it was just a little fancy, and James would have interest in some other girl in a few days. But then again, James had been like this since the past summer.  
  
But in their previous years at Hogwarts, Lily felt like she couldn't trust him, Sirius, Peter and sometimes Remus because they took a liking to teasing and pranking her since first year more than any other Gryffindor. They slowed down the pranks on her two years ago and stopped altogether so far through sixth year. It would be so hard to change my views on him, she thought. Some twenty minutes later, James trembled as he began to speak. In the past two years he had a crush on Lily, there were times when the two of them got into arguments, others when they didn't pay attention to each other and the rare times when they got along perfectly fine. James felt happy most of the time around Lily, and hoped she, if not now, would have the same feelings for him as well.  
  
"When I found out from Jonathan that you weren't on the train in September. so many things were going on in my mind. I don't remember how it all started, but for the past tow years, I've had considerably warm feelings for you. They've increased only over the summer. I'm not asking for anything big, but if you could just think bout if you share the same thoughts as I do."  
  
Lily trembled as James moved closer to her, he once again not knowing what to say.  
  
"James, I've already thought of it for a considerable amount of years. With everything you and your friends did to me in the past, I don't think I'll ever feel the way you feel for me."  
  
"But.. that was the past." James stuttered.  
  
"I helped you today because you wanted to get away from Jillian. It's a fact you don't like her; a majority of the school has realize that. except her. Friends maybe, not we're nothing more than that."  
  
Lily got up and headed for the door. James got up and followed her.  
  
"Don't think about the past, I was an idiot then, I mean it! Please, Lily."  
  
He grabbed her shoulder and turned her around to face him. James looked at her with pleading eyes. Lily felt as if she were going to fall apart with was happening. She didn't really want it to happen, but something told her that it shouldn't happen. She straightened her back and looked at him with stern eyes instead.  
  
"James, I'm sorry. See you tomorrow morning."  
  
James never felt worse. He let go of her in disbelief, and Lily left the room, not looking back. James waited for the wall to close again, then flung himself onto the couch. As soon as it really got to him, he cried.  
  
-----there's the end of chapter 6, I'm so sorry that it was short, but the next two chapters are a bit longer. once I get this uploaded, I'll start typing the next chapter and I can get it uploaded tonight also!!!! Sounds good? Okayz, read and review please!! 


	7. Talks with the Rindels

Author's note: Nothing much to say since I just uploaded chapter 6 a few minute ago, but. um. I guess if you guys feel there's something missing from the story or think the rating of the story should change. just let me know!!!  
  
Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to J.K. Rowling... obviously made up characters were created by me!!!  
  
Chapter Seven- Talks with the Rindels  
  
Lily entered the dormitory quietly, not wanting to attract attention from any of the girls settling for bed. After all, it was already about 11 in the evening. She was relieved to notice Jillian was already sleeping; she didn't feel like having to deal with her at the moment. She grabbed a pair of pajamas and headed for the bathroom. By the time she got back, all the girls were asleep and Lily crawled into her own bed. The problem was that couldn't fall asleep right away. Her mind was in a frenzy, filled with thoughts. How could have such a thing have happened? If perhaps she had James talk a little more, it wouldn't have ended in a mutually sad situation.  
  
She eventually did fall asleep, but she kept on dwelling on it. As a prefect, she had to help prepare the Halloween Feast festivities. More specifically, she was in charge of how to illuminate the Great Hall. For the past few years, candlesticks that floated in the air were held by miniature, fake human skeletons. Hoping to try something more different (and something more suitable to look at), she decided to enchant muggle Jack-o-Lanterns like the candles during the Beginning of Term feast. She presented the idea to Mc Gonagall, who loved the idea right away.  
  
After dinner that evening, Lily, along with Alaina, was in the Transfiguration classroom using charms to cut out face shapes from several dozens of pumpkins Hagrid had given them to use. Except for the occasional ghost, Lily and Alaina were alone in the spacious, quiet classroom. The two hardly had time to hang out, so they used the time to catch up on what was going on in their lives.  
  
Alaina was doing very well in Ravenclaw and in Hogwarts generally. Alaina was a very bright girl, perhaps one of the top 15 students in their year, in which there were about 175 students. (Lily was third, Sirius second and James was first) She, with her personality, acquired many friends, mostly 5th to 7th year Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs. She also had a good amount of admirers.  
  
Lily held up a winking pumpkin for Alaina to see.  
  
"What do you think of this?"  
  
Alaina looked.  
  
"Hey, he's winking, I've never been able to do that. It's really good," Alaina answered, smiling.  
  
"Now take a look at mine."  
  
Alaina performed one more charm before turning it around. Lily laughed at Alaina's dizzy-eyed pumpkin.  
  
"That's a great one too; anyone who takes a look above their head is going to have fun looking at these faces," Lily said, laughing.  
  
She put her carved pumpkin aside and picked an uncarved one off an adjacent table. While thinking of a facial expression, Lily decided to tell Alaina what happened last night. Alaina said,  
  
"James, it seems, went through a lot to say what he did last night. Maybe you didn't notice, but James wasn't in any of his classes today."  
  
Lily's eyes widened in shock. She didn't believe it would affect him that much.  
  
"Maybe. one of his injuries worsened and he had to go back to the infirmary."  
  
Alaina shrugged. Lily thought for a moment.  
  
"I can ask one of his friends on how he's doing."  
  
"Why don't you ask Jonathan? From what I hear, they're becoming good friends."  
  
Alaina stood up then continued on saying, "Let's finish these up tomorrow; the sooner you get your problem settled, the better."  
  
Lily gratefully agreed and they stored the pumpkins in a container Mc Gonagall set aside for them. After saying their goodbyes, they set for their respective Houses. To her luck, only a few students were left in the common room and one of them was Jonathan sitting by the fireplace working on Defense Against the Dark Arts homework. His mouth was moving as if talking to someone, but Lily didn't see anyone remotely by him. She walked up to him anyway.  
  
"Jonathan, can I talk to you about something?"  
  
Realizing it was Lily, he looked up at her, alarmed. Hiding the real reason, he said concerningly,  
  
"Lily, is something wrong?"  
  
Lily played with her hair nervously.  
  
"I'm hoping what I'll say will stay between the two of us," she said sitting down.  
  
Jonathan closed and put his homework off to this side almost forcibly, like he was pushing against something.  
  
"I promise all will be kept between you and me. If I find out somebody hears what we're going to talking about, they're never going to hear the end of it from me."  
  
Lily smiled gratefully.  
  
"Thanks Jonathan."  
  
"So what is it that you wanted to talk about?"  
  
"Please don't laugh or tease me, but. it's about James."  
  
Pretty much expecting that answer, Jonathan answered back, saying, "What's going on between you and James?"  
  
Lily sat up straight and spoke earnestly, saying,  
  
"That's exactly what it is! With everyone I know, from acquaintances to best friends, I know if I like them or not straight out, but with James, I have a really strong feeling of ambivalence towards him!"  
  
Jonathan sighed and sank back into the couch. He really didn't know what to tell her.  
  
"Lily? I think the best thing for you to do is wait it out; I'm sure you'll find out how you feel about James soon."  
  
Lily sighed. "I don't know if I can wait any longer. it's been worrying me for a while."  
  
Lily stood up and rubbed the side of her head. Jonathan smiled.  
  
"You're a busy person Lily, you deserve a lot of rest."  
  
'Thanks. good night Jonathan."  
  
Lily leaned over to kiss Jonathan on the cheek, then walked off to the girls' dormitories. Once Jonathan had made sure Lily had entered her room, he went up to the sixth year boys' dormitory, where he found the Marauders poring over the Marauders Map.  
  
"James."  
  
James looked up from the Marauders Map, apparently anxious.  
  
'So what'd she say?"  
  
Jonathan sighed, then smiled.  
  
"If at first you don't succeed, try again," Jonathan said encouragingly.  
  
"Yeah James, there's no harm in trying again," Sirius said, adding on to the support.  
  
"But don't rush anything, James. For things to work out right, this must be planned carefully," Remus advised.  
  
James thought for a moment, then seemed to have come up with an idea. On his face, only mischief was visible. Peter became alarmed.  
  
"Not only does it have to be planned carefully, it can't be something that would make her hate you instead!"  
  
James smirked.  
  
"Who says this will make her hate me?"  
  
---- Two chappies uploaded in one day!!!!! Once I finish handwriting chapter eight, I'll get that uploaded soon! Please review!!!! 


	8. Halloween

Author's note: Here we go, chapter eight!!! The end of this chapter was a bit unexpected, even for me, and I wrote it. I considered cutting it out, but then I realized I haven't indicated any tension, I guess that's how to word it, between them in here, so the end of this is something new, what I've never done. cuz of that. this story now has PG-13 rating, just in case.. let me know what you think! So please review!  
  
Disclaimer: What's familiar to you all belongs to JK Rowling. Whatever's unfamiliar belongs to ME!!!!!!!!!  
  
Chapter Eight- Halloween  
  
By the time everyone was awake and about Saturday morning, it was clear that the house elves were busy cooking by the sweet aromas and such floating around the castle. Nobody could help but be in high spirits; not even Jillian, who had been shooting dirty looks at Lily every time she saw her in the past few days. Lily wasn't paying much attention though. The morning was spent by third years and above in Hogsmeade. Honeydukes and the Three Broomsticks in particular were crowded with Howarts students, happily drinking butterbeer or buying all sorts of candies. The weather had been awfully cold and rainy lately, and it was Halloween that the clouds left, revealing a bright sun and bright blue sky.  
  
Evening came, and the Halloween feast began in the Great Hall. Everyone started grabbing at anything they could. The Great Hall looked fantastic with all the Jack O' Lanterns floating around in the air, one of the first year Gryffindors pointed out to Lily, who then beamed with pride. McGonagall had asked Lily to sit with some of the first years that were a bit shier than others during meals until they broke the ice with some other students. As she ate, she took a glance halfway up the table, where her friends were busy eating and talking amongst each other. Her anger, however, rose when she saw James laughing with Camille. She bent down to one of the first years sitting beside her.  
  
"I'm not feeling all too well tonight, so I'm afraid I'll have to step outside. I'll be back soon."  
  
The small girl nodded, and Lily went outside onto the front lawn. It was only slightly chilly, so Lily, even though wearing her uniform, climbed up one of the taller trees and sat on the widest branch she could find. She turned to face the castle. It was a very pretty sight. In celebration of Halloween, all the lights were on in the castle. After thinking for a few minutes,  
  
"Well, that was dumb. They were probably just talking about Quidditch. They're both obsessed with that game."  
  
Looking at the entrance, she saw two figures emerge from the castle. As they moved closer to the tree, Lily noticed that one of them was Ashley. She blinked in surprise to realize the second person to be David, a seventh year from Ravenclaw. Lily looked back towards the castle as Ashley and David kissed.  
  
'You don't need a boyfriend; you're lucky to be loved by friends,' Lily thought to herself.  
  
She needed to focus on her studies more than anything else right now; if she were to get a successful job at the Ministry, grades and such from sixth year and beyond were taken into serious consideration. After she was certain Ashley and David had gone back in the castle, Lily climbed down the tree and went back into the Great Hall. The first years Lily had been sitting with had begun eating dessert and despite the large amount of cakes, doughnuts and ice cream that appeared on the table, one of the girls, Aly, saw Lily enter. She ran up to her excitedly.  
  
"Lily! You missed it!"  
  
Lily smiled.  
  
"What'd I miss, Aly?"  
  
''Four of the older boys turned a boy in Slytherin to wear Gryffindor robes using magic!" Aly exclaimed, her eyes gleaming with delight.  
  
"I'm assuming those four boys are in my year. did Professor McGonagall take them into another room afterwards?"  
  
Aly nodded. 'She didn't look too mad at them though. Most teachers looked amused, even."  
  
Lily laughed, then went to sit back down with the first years. As she reached out for some ice cream, a finger poked her arm sharply. Lily let out a short gasp, then looked around to see who did it. That poke had not been a friendly one. Her eyes narrowed slightly seeing Alex standing behind her with a smirk on his face.  
  
"Well, Lily Evans is a witch," he said coldly.  
  
"And Alex O'Connor is a wizard. I don't want to talk to you, and I don't need to."  
  
Alex scoffed. "We already sit together in Transfiguration. It's not going to be that easy."  
  
Lily shook her head.  
  
"I don't know how somebody like you got into such a revered House. You don't deserve to be in Ravenclaw."  
  
Alex looked taken back, but moments later said, "You don't deserve to be in Gryffindor yourself."  
  
Lily stared at him angrily. She believed herself to be a true Gryffindor. She felt a tug at the sleeves of her robes. As Lily turned to Aly, Alex walked away. Lily's tense face softened at the sight of Aly's saddened expression. She knew why she was that way.  
  
"Aly, I'm sorry." Lily said pleadingly.  
  
"Mum and dad used to say things like that to each other a lot before I came here; your argument just sounded like theirs. It's okay though." Sadly, Aly turned back to her plate and continued eating.  
  
Lily couldn't help but feel horrible as she began to eat her ice cream.  
  
Two hours later, Lily was up alone in the dormitory, changing into her pajamas. She stopped however, when she heard an unfamiliar creak not too far away from where she was standing.  
  
Although she was sure there was nobody in the room, she called out, "Hello?"  
  
For a moment, there was silence, so Lily resumed changing. She jumped, however, when a very familiar boy's voice answered sheepishly.  
  
"Erm. hello. Happy Halloween?"  
  
Lily's anger flared again.  
  
"James!!!!" she yelled and grabbed her wand. She pointed it to the center of the room.  
  
"Accio Invisibility Cloak!"  
  
A few seconds later, Lily threw James' invisibility cloak on her bed and pointed her wand at James after she had bolted and doors and windows with a locking charm.  
  
"Why in the world are you in a girls' dormitory?" Lily asked impatiently.  
  
James' right hand went through his hair, his face turning slightly red and laughed nervously. Without him talking, Lily realized what he had been doing, and she went into a rage.  
  
"You've been watching me! James Potter, you are absolutely sick, absolutely perverted! I hate you!" she screamed.  
  
"Lily," James started, taking a step towards her. His emotions were running high as well.  
  
"How long have you been watching me??" Lily continued screaming.  
  
"Does it matter how long I've been watching you? You caught me here, you should be satisfied with that!" James yelled back at her.  
  
"Yes, it matters to me, James! I'M NOT ELEVEN YEARS OLD ANYMORE!" Lily yelled annoyed.  
  
James raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Who could ever mistake you for an 11 year old?" James asked curiously.  
  
Lily breathed deeply, starting to calm down.  
  
"You'd be surprised."  
  
"Maybe not; some people think I'm 18 now," James said, hoping to make her feel better.  
  
Lily shook her head.  
  
"You don't look like you're 18; 16 maybe."  
  
"Then we're equal."  
  
"Yeah." Lily muttered something and the door and windows opened. "You can go now, James."  
  
Thanking he heard wrong, "Pardon?"  
  
"You can go now."  
  
"But we were finally settling into friendly conversation!"  
  
"But before that, I was getting ready for bed."  
  
"I know that, remember? My compliments on your figure, it's quite a lovely sight," James said boldly.  
  
Lily gasped furiously and slapped James hard on the cheek.  
  
"I WILL NOT BE TALKED OF LIKE THAT!" Lily screamed.  
  
James got angry. Again.  
  
"Lily, you say you're not 11 years old, yes, you are 16. I know other girls your age, and you are ridiculously pure-minded. I refuse to believe all your thoughts are pure. It's not humanly possible!"  
  
Lily crossed her arms stubbornly across her chest and didn't answer, simply glaring at him. James smiled in triumphant victory and turned to leave, but before he could step out the door, Lily shut the door again with her locking charm. Now Lily was the one smirking and James was glaring.  
  
"Now you can't leave, not after what you just said," Lily said contemptuously.  
  
"First you say I can leave, now you say I can't!"  
  
Pulling his wand out of his pocket, James advanced to where Lily was standing. Lily, being light and fast, beat him to what he was planning to do.  
  
"Expelliarmus!"  
  
The force of the spell sent James flying to the other side of the room. He let out a loud grunt as he lifted himself back up onto his feet. Ready to strike James again, Lily raised her wand, but James came up with a better idea.  
  
"Accio Invisibility Cloak!"  
  
James grabbed it, slipping it on before Lily's mind registered it. Lily had left the windows open, so James ran to the nearest window.  
  
"Accio Silver Arrow!"  
  
Lily ran to the window. Inwardly scolding herself for forgetting to lock the windows. James, though invisible, mounted his ever-faithful Silver Arrow and hastily tried to escape. Lily quickly put on her school robes and jumped onto the broom, towards the end. Although she had been quiet, James noticed the broom had gotten heavier. Instead of getting mad, an evil grin spread on James' face as he spotted the Quidditch field.  
  
"There it is." and the broom flew at a moderate pace towards the field. Lily, who had not been on a broom since first year was panicking, having forgotten how to ride. And also, there were two people on the broom, making it more difficult for her to calm down. James was really enjoying himself, not attentive to Lily's panicking. There was a breeze, and with the speed of the broom, it was a wonderful feeling. The only thing was that he was wearing his invisibility cloak. then he heard Lily yelp in fear.  
  
Sighing, James landed his broom on the field, and slipping his cloak off, which was a mistake. As soon as he did so, Lily tackled him down on the ground with ease.  
  
"Now what's this for?" James said, quite annoyed.  
  
"For the idea of using a broomstick, that's what!" Lily said, centimeters above James.  
  
All of a sudden, James let a gasp escape from him, as a tightening entered his groin. He groaned and closed his eyes. Seconds later, Lily was surprised to feel something hard pressing into her thigh. With realization, Lily stared at James in surprise.  
  
"Oh my god, James," she whispered as she stood up.  
  
Expecting Lily to hit him, James kept his eyes closed and listened to his quickening heartbeat.  
  
'This has never happened before. Why'd it have to happen now. why couldn't I have just kissed her?' James thought.  
  
After a minute or so, James noticed Lily hadn't done anything and cautiously opened his eyes. She was nowhere to be found. He sat up, scanning the area. Off in the distance, Lily was running back into the castle, not caring she was only wearing her pajamas and school robes. Collecting his things, James also realized she took his invisibility cloak.  
  
End of chapter eight. just let me know what you think. I was awfully hesitant in typing the last part. please review and let me know! 


	9. Quidditch and Homework

Author's note: Yay. chapter nine!!!!! This chapter has no romance in it for once. not saying it's a bad thing, but it's my first attempt at a Quidditch game!!! I'll point out one thing . during the game, the announcer here calls the athletes by their last names here. All names were made up by me, except for Robert Browning, who was a well-known poet. Also, I ask for forgiveness. I meant to get this done faster, but I went through some writers block and had to think up some stuff. Before I get started on chapter nine, I'd like to thank everybody who's ever reviewed this story and the prologue to it. Okay, let's go!  
  
Chapter 9- Quidditch and Homework  
  
Running as fast as she could and avoiding Peeves, Lily dashed back into the dormitory within ten minutes. She slipped off James' cloak, folded it carefully and put it in one of her drawers.  
  
"You own an invisibility cloak? How come you never told me?"  
  
Lily turned to the location of the curious, yet cold voice, finally not James'. However, it was Jillian, sitting on her bed. Caught, Lily covered up.  
  
"I received it during owl post the other day."  
  
Jillian grunted and pulled the curtains of her bed to close. Lily didn't feel like answering to Jillian's grunt, considering what just happened on the Quidditch field. Lily shivered at what she felt from James.  
  
The next morning, Lily woke from Camille pulling her bed curtains open.  
  
"Lily, this is one Saturday morning you can't sleep in on! Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw!"  
  
Lily groaned and retreated under her blankets.  
  
"Just let me know who wins," Lily's muffled voice said.  
  
Camille sighed.  
  
"Aruba? Ashley? A little help here!" she called out.  
  
Seconds later, Lily was aware by the chilly air that they had taken off her blankets.  
  
Giving in, Lily sat up.  
  
"What time is it, anyway?"  
  
"7:45 in the morning, match starts at 10. We can all have a good breakfast before I go get ready and you guys go out to the stadium," Camille said cheerfully, laying her Quidditch robes out on her bed to change into later.  
  
Ashley sighed as Lily trudged into the bathroom.  
  
"I love those Quidditch robes," Ashley said, admiring them.  
  
Camille grinned.  
  
"Aren't they great? Last years were absolutely awful. I hope this style will be used for a good long time. hey, did you hear James in the common room last night? He was ranting about her," Camille said softly, her head motioning to Lily in the bathroom.  
  
Ashley and Aruba shook their heads.  
  
"What was he saying about her?" Aruba whispered.  
  
"He was watching her dress here last night. She went crazy, they started fighting here and it ended on the Quidditch field. Lily tackled him down because they got there by broomstick. James'.well. you-know-what, became erect and Lily felt it. And earlier this morning, maybe around 3, she was moaning his name softly."  
  
Aruba's eyes widened.  
  
"Was she alone?"  
  
"She was, or else I would have heard some banging."  
  
"Banging? What banging?"  
  
Lily stepped out of the bathroom, dressed in her school robes.  
  
"Camille was telling us about the annoying sound when beater bats hit bludgers," Ashley lied.  
  
Lily frowned.  
  
"Oh. I've never noticed that. I should attend another of your Quidditch practices, Camille. Not to play of course, just hide in the stands."  
  
Camille nodded.  
  
"Sure. Come on, we'd better get down to breakfast. It really sucks that Gryffindor dormitories are in a tower. I bet the other Houses' dormitories are much closer to the Great Hall than we are."  
  
An amusing discussion about that continued amongst the four girls until they reached the Great Hall. Camille went to sit with the Quidditch team. Same as last night, Lily went to sit with the first year Gryffindors. "Good morning guys," she said to them as she sat down.  
  
Breanna, one of the girls, looked up at Lily.  
  
"Um Lily?"  
  
"Yes Breanna?" Lily answered as she spread butter on her bagel.  
  
"A lot of us heard about what happened last night."  
  
"When I got angry and left the table for a while? Oh, that was nothing," Lily told her, smiling.  
  
"Not that," William, another first year, pointed out.  
  
"You and a boy on the Quidditch field."  
  
Lily hadn't expected them to say that, and the dropping of her knife and her eyes widening were the implications of her surprise.  
  
"How did you find out?" she asked quietly.  
  
"A boy came into the common room around ten thirty last night and rambled to his friends about what happened between you two so loud that everyone in the room heard, as much as we didn't want to," Breanna explained.  
  
Frowning at James' stupidity, she then, restraining herself from yelling, asked, "If you don't mind, did he sound happy about what happened?"  
  
Another first year, Nicole, spoke up.  
  
" I wouldn't say happy; more of excited."  
  
"Some girls giggled, and everyone resumed their breakfast. Lily groaned as she bit into her bagel. She would have rather preferred James had talked to his friends in private.  
  
A couple of hours later, the students were making their way out to the stadium, absolutely excited. This was not the case in the Gryffindor locker room, particularly for James, who now regretted talking to Sirius, Remus and Peter in the common room last night. Now all of his teammates had been teasing James all morning, saying that Lily wouldn't want anything to do with him anymore. As they walked out to the field, James couldn't help but feel that they were right. He swallowed audibly and turned to his teammates.  
  
"Despite my time in the hospital wing a few weeks ago, I know we were meant to win today's game. Don't try to fall," he said encouragingly, and then flew into the stadium.  
  
The team laughed, and then followed James. It was a perfect day for Quidditch. Just like yesterday, the sun was shining, the sky was cloudless and there was only a slight breeze.  
  
"Welcome to the first Quidditch game of the season: Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw!" the announcer, Hufflepuff seventh year Michael, yelled over the roaring crowd as both team settled into their appropriate positions. Professor Marien stood on the ground, poised to kick open the box that held the bludgers and snitch. She was already holding the Quaffle. Once everyone was in place, she kicked the box; the three balls flew out and then threw the Quaffle into the air. The Gryffindors groaned as a Ravenclaw caught the Quaffle.  
  
"And Mandy Perkins of Ravenclaw holds possession of the Quaffle as the game begins! Gryffindor Keeper Liam Manton prepares as Perkins passes to Robert Browning, the newest member. oh! Taken by Gryffindor Chaser Sophia Ablen, another new member.  
  
"Passes to James Potter, who's heading to the Ravenclaw goal posts.good move, Potter! Just missed a bludgers hit by Ravenclaw Beater Dylan Dodun. Potter passes to Sean Kline, who passes to Alben. excellent set of chasers. and Gryffindor scores! 10-0 Gryffindor!"  
  
Happy yells of delight arose from the Gryffindor stands as Sophia did a flip in celebration of her first goal.  
  
Half an hour later, the score was 60-40 Gryffindor and neither of the Seekers had seen the snitch yet.  
  
". and Ravenclaw Chaser Brian Morano loses the Quaffle after hit by a bludgers from Gryffindor Camille O'Brien. Perkins catches the Quaffle. now she's been hit by the other bludgers from other Gryffindor Beater Cameron Crain. Gryffindor Chaser Potter takes the Quaffle. passes to Kline."  
  
"OH! Intercepted by Ravenclaw Chaser Morano, heads for Gryffindor goal. Ravenclaw scores! 60-50, Gryffindor!"  
  
Ravenclaw's cheers were stopped short seconds later with an announcement.  
  
"It seems both seekers have spotted the snitch and are flying like mad after it!" Meanwhile, all the others resume play! And here we go."  
  
Nobody paid attention to Michael after that announcement. All eyes were on the two seekers: Anna Rosian of Gryffindor and Marianne Blasen of Ravenclaw. Both girls were small, light and fast and were constantly beside each other in the chase. They were heading towards the base of the Slytherin stands when a bludgers headed their way. Marianne screamed and pulled up. Anna reached out her arm for the snitch, and in second, secured it in her hand as Camille came to hit the bludgers away from her.  
  
The stadium stands slightly trembled from the chaos that broke out from t he Gryffindor stands.  
  
"And Gryffindor wins the first game of the season! If they keep this up, the Quidditch Cup will have their names on it! Score's 210- 50!" Michael shouted, although the first row of teachers sitting behind him were the only ones in the stadium that could hear him.  
  
Luckily enough, the clouds that started assembling ten minutes into the game chose that moment to release a light rain. Not caring if they got in trouble, practically all of Gryffindor House rushed out onto the Quidditch field to meet the team, who had just landed. Most went to Anna because she was the seeker or Sean and Sophia to congratulate them for doing so well on their first game.  
  
Lily, with Aruba and Ashley, ran out to meet Camille.  
  
"That was a good game, wasn't it?" Camille shrieked as the three bombarded her with hugs.  
  
"Heck yes! We're going to win the Quidditch Cup this year, I know it!" Aruba said excitedly.  
  
"James' friends were sitting two rows behind us. From what I head from them earlier, I think there's going to be a victory party in the common room!" Ashley yelled enthusiastically.  
  
Ashley heard correctly; by the time all the wet Gryffindors were forced into the common room by Professor McGonagall, all the Marauders had the common room set for a party.  
  
November flew by and the Christmas season was already remarkably close. Somebody in Gryffindor had made an Advent Wreath and head already lit the first candle. Since Halloween, James had avoided Lily as much as possible, believing she didn't want to talk to him or anything like that anymore. Lily delved into her studies to keep her mind off him and spent a great deal of time poring over books and notes in either the dormitory or in the library. Being a sixth year had a lot of pluses, but she had a massive amount of homework now, as all her classes were on the NEWT level.  
  
As Christmas drew nearer, Camille, Ashley and Aruba noticed Lily's isolation from everybody else. While walking around the school, they agreed to do something if she was still working like she was by December 18. They were hoping that teachers would lower the amount of homework as a Christmas treat. But those in McGonagall's NEWT Transfiguration class were told that there would be work over the holiday, announced December 7.  
  
"How are we supposed to relax over the holidays?" several of the students groaned upon hearing the news.  
  
McGonagall tapped her wand on her desk impatiently.  
  
"Two years from now, you will no longer be in school, but out working in the wizarding world. There you will be doing work all year round. Thus in preparation, you have been given what you have. However, since I know you all want to hear this, the work isn't terribly heavy and if you work on it now, I believe a good number of you will be done with it before your holiday begins," McGonagall said, smiling.  
  
After dinner that evening, Lily went up to the dormitory, greeted by the sight of a mound of books on her bed. She planned to follow this: work on it now as to relax later. Her plans for Christmas were just to stay in Hogwarts. So many interesting things happened at Hogwarts over the holidays, especially seeing the teachers in a very different light. It was also great sharing Gryffindor with practically nobody.  
  
Smiling with thoughts of Christmas, Lily opened a roll of parchment, which contained her progressing DADA essay on the psychological effects of certain curses after being performed. It was one of the assignments due tomorrow and she still had five out of twelve inches more of parchment to write. As Lily opened a book to father some information for her essay, she felt a headache coming and groaned. She could no longer concentrate, her face got sweaty, and then everything went black.  
  
........  
  
Lily heard voices around her, but only slightly; she was very tired. she closed her eyes again and immediately fell into dreamless sleep....  
  
.......  
  
What seemed like five minutes later, Lily woke up but didn't open her eyes. There was silence where she was. She drifted off again...  
  
Lily went on like that several times until she felt somewhat stronger to open her eyes. Surrounded by white blankets, Lily realized that she was in the hospital wing. Upon hearing her move, Madam Pomfrey rushed to her side.  
  
"Lily Evans! Finally, you've stirred. Come now, you must be hungry," she said, pouring soup into a bowl.  
  
"Excuse me Madam Pomfrey," Lily said, looking at the morning sky. "Is today December 8?" Lily wanted to get back to her homework as soon as possible.  
  
Madam Pomfrey looked at Lily in surprise.  
  
"December 8? No, December 12 is more like it." Lily sprang out of bed and took hold of her school robes.  
  
"I need to speak to Professor McGonagall," she said, slipping her robes on.  
  
Lily felt weak and wobbly on her feet, but began walking to the door. Madam Pomfrey gasped and scuttled after her.  
  
"Oh no you're not, Lily," she said, taking a hold of her and guiding her to a mirror.  
  
Though getting a bit frustrated, Lily looked into the mirror, and then nearly fell back. She looked paler and skinnier than usual, her auburn hair mixed with sweat sticking to the side of her face.  
  
"You, Lily Evans, are a victim of work overload. I do not know why you're working yourself so hard, but it must stop!" Madam Pomfrey said in a motherly way, still grasping Lily's shoulders.  
  
"But I'm in all NEWT classes and trying to get work done before holiday starts!"  
  
"And you are also the only one in your year with all NEWT classes who's landed in the hospital wing suffering form the load of schoolwork. I'm sure there's another reason, Madam Pomfrey pointed out.  
  
Lily shook her head.  
  
"There's no other reason. I work hard for my grades, and a few days in the hospital wing are going to make them drop! There's no way I'm going to let that pass!"  
  
Lily pulled away from Madam Pomfrey, only to bump into Camille, who came by to visit Lily before classes started. Lily felt as if she were in a nightmare.  
  
"Madam Pomfrey's right; you've never been like this. there must be another reason. You know the reason; you just haven't realized it yet," Camille said, looking at Lily sadly.  
  
A bell sounded, signaling the start of the first class. Camille turned to leave.  
  
"I'll let them know you've woken up," she said in a melancholy tone, then left the wing.  
  
Breaking into tears, Lily ran back to the bed she was sleeping in and hid under the covers. She stayed there pretty much the whole day, falling asleep every once in a while. After dinner, Ashley paid a visit with a cheerful approach.  
  
"McGonagall passed out the list of who's staying in Hogwarts for Christmas on Friday," Ashley said, taking a seat beside Lily's bed.  
  
Lily, still hiding under her blankets, refused to come out.  
  
"Ashley, you did write my name for me, didn't you?"  
  
"I didn't."  
  
"Why???? You knew I was planning on staying here." Lily demanded.  
  
"And what would you do here? Just work some more?"  
  
"My parents and Petunia are already off on holiday visiting relatives. I'm staying here."  
  
"No you've not, Lily. You're going over to my house for the holidays along with Aruba and Camille."  
  
"I can't believe you're doing this to me," Lily sighed.  
  
"The Marauders are the only Gryffindors signed to stay. What do you think of that?"  
  
"Okay, fine. I'll go to your place."  
  
"Great! Now Christmas is all about relaxing and having fun, so I won't have to take you to St. Mungo's?"  
  
"I'll do my best to make sure you won't have to," Lily answered glumly.  
  
Ashley smiled.  
  
"I'll owl your family and let them know. Meanwhile, go and eat that soup of yours before it gets cold," she advised.  
  
Lily shook her head.  
  
"There's a thermulation charm on that bowl I am in no hurry," Lily replied flatly.  
  
End of Chapter 9. Please review!!!!!!!!!! 


	10. Once Upon a December

Author's Note: I last updated this story Setpember 4. explanation? This is the fourth version of chapter 10. the others didn't quite satisfy me and then being a senior in high school is sooo exhausting!!!!!! Ah, I'll try to move a bit faster once all the college apps are done! Anyway, enjoy this chapter. have fun and review!!!!!!!!!!!   
  
Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to JK Rowling, unfamiliar ones belong to me!   
  
Chapter 10- Once Upon a December   
  
The next few days following Lily's awakening were the slowest she ever experienced. Madam Pomfrey made her stay in bed and sleep as often as she could, allowing her to get up only if Lily had to go to the bathroom. Professor McGonagall visited Lily the night after her awakening and to prevent one of her favorite students from going into a frenzy, McGonagall changed all the homework to extra credit and with Lily's outstanding average, it would not be necessary for her to do all the work. So that gave Lily nothing else to do but eat, drink, sleep, use the bathroom and look forward to visitors.   
  
Upon hearing that Lily was in the hospital, Alaina and Jonathan made the effort to visit her everyday. As entertaining as they were, Lily felt very restless and was always waiting to hear Peeves's cackling laugh, the warning of upcoming chaos. Unfortunately, Madam Pomfrey was skilled at keeping Peeves away from the hospital wing. Plus, no student was in the wing except Lily.   
  
Then three days before Christmas, Lily's heart leaped as several panicky, quick moving feet ran towards the hospital wing. She closed her eyes and pretended to sleep as the feet scurried into the room. She listened to the people as to figure out who was joining her in the wing.   
  
"Bludger.. Knocked off broom.. wouldn't respond after a good hard kick..." Were the only words Lily could pick up.   
  
'That tells me that the person is a Quidditch player, one of twenty eight in the school.... I hope it's not a Slytherin.'   
  
Ten minutes later, all the people walked out except Madam Pomfrey and whoever it was that fell from his or her broom. Since she was supposed to be sleeping, Lily kept her eyes shut and waited until Madam Pomfrey finished tending to her new patient to open her eyes. She sat up almost immediately after she heard the door close to take a look at who it was.   
  
Her heart sank to her stomach upon seeing black, disheveled hair poking out from the blanket of the second bed to her right. Even though darkness was creeping through the window, Lily knew immediately that it was James. Lily mentally scolded herself for not thinking it was James, the only Quidditch player in Hogwarts that frequently fell off his broom. James was fast asleep, and Lily smiled at the sight, but dove back under her blankets as footsteps reapproached the hospital wing. The doors opened and somebody momentarily pulled Lily's blankets off her.   
  
Lily grimaced as the cold air hit her. She didn't realize how warm those blankets were.   
  
"Lily, I know you're awake. Anyway, Madam Pomfrey says you'll be able to leave tomorrow morning, provide we let you rest and we feed you," Camille's voice said loudly and cheerfully.   
  
Lily peered up and picked her blankets off the floor.   
  
"Well, of course I'm leaving tomorrow morning. We're going to Ashley's for Christmas, right?" Lily pointed out.   
  
Camille chuckled.   
  
"I almost forgot about that. Yeah, the train leaves tomorrow. We packed your trunk for you already; we did it about a week ago."   
  
Her eyes averted towards James and sighed.   
  
"We told James he was insane to have practice at this time of year. But did he listen? No! Ah, well, he has been acting a bit odd lately. Even the other Marauders say so. For them not to know, something's really wrong with him" Camille stated curiously.   
  
Lily shrugged.   
  
"I haven't had a proper encounter with him since Halloween, so I wouldn't know." Camille's eyes went back to Lily in realization.   
  
"Well, he's got it so bad for you that he landed here in the hospital wing," Camille said with a hint of pride in her voice for finally coming up with that idea.   
  
Lily looked stunned for a moment, then began spreading her blankets back over her bed.   
  
"Camille, I'm aware he's been after me for a couple of years, but for me to have that much of an effect on him is very unlikely, I think." "But listen to what you just said a moment ago: "I haven't had a proper encounter with him since Halloween." Lily, let me remind you that that was October 31. Today is December 22. You've been so wrapped up in your studies and the first years that you haven't been aware of the things happening around you!"   
  
"Tell me then."   
  
"James is being told off by almost every teacher for staring into space and although I'm not in O.W.L. Transfiguration like you, I'm hearing that McGonagall is dissatisfied with James's recent grades and is thinking of telling James to get extra help. Now, don't tell me that isn't a problem. Neither is he focused during Quidditch practices. He's been hauling all of us out of the Tower into this freezing weather. Insane and off his rocker is James Potter." she started, as she shook her head. Then she continued speaking.   
  
"And some Slytherins, and I'm quite sure as to who they are, decided to have a bit of fun and let out the bludgers and made them to trail James until he fell off his broom. The snowfall we've been having lately didn't help the situation. And I've been talking to Remus and he says that James tosses and turns while he sleeps and says your name every once in a while."   
  
Lily was overwhelmed with the information just given.   
  
"These classes are getting to his head too. I got here via exhaustedness from O.W.L. classes and James finally lost it from O.W.L. classes too and led him to make you guys practice Quidditch today and land him here," she rationalized.   
  
But Camille simply gave Lily a sincere smile.   
  
"Loving somebody body is one of the greatest gifts you can ever give to them. I'll be back at 6:30 tomorrow morning to help you. Your friend Jonathan and his sister are coming as well. Sleep well Lily," Camille said then walked out of the wing.   
  
"Loving somebody back is one of the greatest gifts you can ever give to them," Lily murmured to herself as she lowered her hand back down on her pillow.   
  
"But am I willing?" she whispered to the silence.   
  
Groans softly came form James's bed as he began to stir. Lily threw her blankets back flat on top of herself, hoping James wouldn't notice that she was there.   
  
"Thanks god Christmas is here," she heard James whisper to the air.   
  
"I need the time to think over things and calm down. I let my emotions get the best of me and that pulled me off track. I wouldn't always be lost in thought and my teammates wouldn't have brought me up here. But is it my fault or Lily's that I landed up here? We started fighting back in Halloween before I could say what I wanted to. I wish she didn't dislike me as much as she does. Sometimes we get along well, why can't it be that way much more often?"   
  
James's voice grew soft and moments later, all Lily heard was his soft breathing, which meant he had fallen asleep again. Lily looked at him sleep now in a curled up position. One foot dangled a few inches above the floor and his hair graced his face in a way that increased Lily's attention. She had never seen him sleep or anyone else sleep at that. Anyway, what else was there to do?   
  
'Just stare at James Potter sleeping. it's not that bad though,' she thought as she shifted into a more comfortable position and curled herself up. There was absolutely nothing for Madam Pomfrey to re-enter the wing for.   
  
Hours passed and by midnight, Lily longed to not be as alone as she was, more than she felt for the past two weeks. Something had to happen. careful as to not make any loud noises that could wake up Madam Pomfrey, she made her way to James's bed and knelt down on the floor, in front of James's face. Hoping not to wake him abruptly, Lily's right hand gently sifted James's dark, messy and thick hair. Sure enough, James let out a sigh a minute later and opened his left eyes sleepily. Lily's face slowly came into focus. He serenely smiled.   
  
"Lily.." he gently whispered.   
  
"Hi James, it's been a while, don't you think?" Lily said in reply. 'Whatever happens, happens,' Lily thought firmly.   
  
James opened his other eye, ready for conversation although he was tired.   
  
'This could just be a dream,' he thought as his hand went out to caress her face.   
  
His fingers lightly brushed her forehead.   
  
"Even though we usually end up fighting, yeah, I miss seeing you. I've been stuck here since the seventh. I'm leaving here early tomorrow morning though."   
  
"Tomorrow's Christmas Eve, isn't it?"   
  
"Yeah, and it's about time. I heard you're staying here for Christmas. Aren't you planning on visiting your parents?"   
  
James shook his head.   
  
"My mum's sick and she doesn't want it going around. Anyway, Hogwarts is far more interesting when only about twenty students stay."   
  
"My friends are making sure I don't stay here for Christmas. I suppose it's for my own good though."  
  
James made a face.  
  
'You haven't missed much in our classes. Everybody's thinking about Christmas that most teachers don't bother teaching new stuff. That and a lot of sixth years are scared of landing in the hospital wing because of work like you. Mostly reviews and McGonagall made all that work extra credit instead. Wish she hadn't though. I finished all that stuff already."  
  
Lily's eyes widened in surprise.  
  
"How in the world did you finish all that work and the stuff from our other classes? All that bloody work is the reason why I'm here!" Lily said in a loud whisper.  
  
James grinned.  
  
"If you had held on for a few more days, your workload would have been a lot less."  
  
"And how would I have been able to hold on for those "few more days"?" Lily implored.  
  
James lifted up the corner of his blanket.  
  
"Quit kneeling on the floor and get in here. Then I'll tell you," he offered.  
  
Lily looked hesitant and moved away from James..  
  
James sighed.  
  
"I land in detention all the time, but I'm not that bad," James said persistently.  
  
Although still a bit hesitant, Lily climbed in. James made no move to touch her in any way, so Lily relaxed... as much as she could. The beds in the hospital wing could barely hold the average sixteen year old.  
  
"Aren't you under the impression that we're both going to fall off?" Lily asked, turning herself around to face James.  
  
"What else happens if you fall off? Madam Pomfrey can mend bones in an instant."  
  
Lily frowned.  
  
"I know that, but I don't think Madam Pomfrey will keep quiet about the fact that we're in the same bed."  
  
James grunted.  
  
"You need to calm down. You're going to Ashley's home aren't you?"  
  
"Yeah..."  
  
"As her next door neighbor, I know Ashley will make sure you don't do a stitch of work. I made her promise a week ago," James said firmly, looking her straight in the eye.  
  
Lily stared at him in disbelief.  
  
"Since when have you ever cared for me?" Lily asked with a tone of great dislike in her voice.  
  
"I'm the one responsible for you being here this year, don't you remember that?" James shot back.  
  
Lily's face softened a bit.  
  
"And I thank you for that. I belong here more that there," she replied as she unconsciously fell into James's eyes and closed her eyes, reflecting on what she could have missed all those years if she had not found out she was a witch.  
  
All the people and experiences... How different it would have been if she were a muggle. But then again, if she were a muggle, she wouldn't be separated from her family for so long.  
  
"Lily?" James softly murmured.  
  
She opened her eyes and found herself staring into James's hazel eyes. She hadn't realized their proximity to each other. James gently brushed his forehead against hers.  
  
"Are you alright?" he asked with a tone of gentleness hardly anyone had ever talked to Lily with, and she liked it. Lily felt as if a barrier were lifted and she could talk to James about anything.  
  
So for the next hour, Lily told him everything that had been going on in her mind a minute ago. And James gave intelligent opinions to each of the things she had expressed, which was a rare trait. A lull though, came over them after Lily finished talking. Lily breathed deeply. Perhaps she had told him too much?  
  
"I'm glad you told me these things, I really am," James said as he tucked a strand of Lily's hair behind her ear.  
  
"Such is the life of a muggle-born witch," Lily chuckled.  
  
James shook his head.  
  
"I liked getting to know you as an individual. You need to laugh more, have a bit of fun. Part of the reason why you're here in the wing is because you take life entirely too seriously. Being a magical person is a gift, not granted to every person alive. Use the gift you've been given, just don't use it in a way that will lead to the destruction of anyone or anything."  
  
Lily smirked.  
  
"Then why do you still hex Snivellus every time you see him in the hallways or the lawn?"  
  
James chuckled.  
  
"Because he's Severus Snape!"  
  
"That's so mean!"  
  
"But it's fun, and none of my hexes are going to kill him. It's not bad, he just chooses to hex me right back and that's when the trouble begins."  
  
"And the reason why you mess up your hair even more than it already is?"  
  
"You answered that question during O.W.L. examinations. Also, I have given up on trying to keep my hair orderly. Next question."  
  
"Why do you play with the Snitch so much?"  
  
James hesitated. He didn't feel like saying it.  
  
"You don't know?"  
  
"James, I'm supposed to be the one asking questions."  
  
"You really want to know the truth?"  
  
"YES!"  
  
James took a deep breath.  
  
"For the first part, it's for showing off but mostly, the Snitch reminds me of you."  
  
Lily was extremely surprised at his second remark.  
  
"How do I remind you of the Snitch?"  
  
"You're always just out of my grasp. I can catch the fast, speedy Snitch, but nto you," James answered with a feeling of reluctance. He didn't want to tell her, but she asked for the truth.  
  
'That's not entirely true, James," Lily replied, her cheeks reddening. "You've caught me a couple of times, but I let myself free."  
  
James thought for a moment.  
  
"Halloween.."  
  
"I ran away from you right after you got me."  
  
"Lily Evans: the hardest snitch to catch," James joked.  
  
"And of all snitches of the world, I'm the one you pursue. This snitch is going back to her own bed because she doesn't want to be caught by anyone with authority."  
  
And before James could register it, Lily had went back to her own bed, turned away from him.  
  
'And the snitch manages to get away again,' James thought. 


	11. Lots and Lots Of Snow!

Author's note: I'm back!!!!!!!!! Only to be away for another two weeks. Um.... Yeah.... ....I haven't updated since November, which I hated doing dearly. I don't think I've ever had so much writer's block on any piece before.... So it's been writer's block and the demand from people to update my other two fics, which are doing extremely well..... knocks on wood But two weeks ago, I got my inspiration back to finish this chapter... and I have to say it's my best one yet! Not to mention my longest chapter ever! And I hope it's an enjoyable one! So now that I'm back into the swing of things, there should be an update within the next 3 or 4 weeks... just pray that I don't hit writer's block for a good long time! Oooh, and please review!  
  
Disclaimer: What sounds familiar belongs to JK Rowling. What doesn't sound familiar belongs to me.  
  
Chapter 11- Lots and lots of snow!  
  
At seven the next evening, the Hogwarts Express finally pulled into Platform 9 3/4. They usually would have arrived by five, but with another impending snowstorm, the train had to take precautions for the safety of the 800 students riding. And sure enough, all 800 scrambled off the train, reunited with their families for the Christmas holidays. At least most of them. Ashley groaned as Platform 9 3/4 emptied out and she and her group were still waiting expectantly for whoever was to pick them up, supposedly Ashley's parents. Lily and Alaina, arms linked, dropped themselves down on the ground, not wanting to remain standing. But to their dismay, Jonathan took them by the arms and swept them back onto their feet.  
  
"Don't sit on the ground unless you wants cold bums—ow!" he said as Alaina started hitting Jonathan on the arm as hard as she could. Lily laughed as Jonathan let go of them to rub his arm.  
  
"Who in your classes, do you hit so much that you've only gotten stronger than in August?" Jonathan asked sulkily.  
  
Lily saw Alaina's eyes become unfocused for a few moments, and then returned to normal. "Nobody.... I suppose it's just all the essays we have to write."  
  
Jonathan looked unconvinced. "You're hiding something from me."  
  
Alaina feigned innocence. "I wouldn't lie to you; you're my big brother, after all."  
  
"No; you would." Jonathan replied crossly.  
  
Camille and Lily looked at each other nervously and Aruba sighed. "Guys, this is no time for fighting, honestly. There's no fireplace in nearby areas, no portkeys and we're too young to apparate," Aruba said as she sat on the steps of the Hogwarts Express.  
  
"And my home is way out and we haven't any Muggle money to use a taxi," Ashley added.  
  
Silence fell over the group for a while, then Lily came up with an obvious idea. Gathering up her stuff, she said, "The Platform's barrier is bound to seal itself soon so we'd better clear out. And hadn't anyone thought of the Knight Bus? Ernie's a bit of an odd driver but will get us where we need to without hesitation."  
  
Ashley grinned. "Lily, you're brilliant, as usual." But as the group assembled off the platform, a tall, handsome man, unmistakably Ashley's dad, came running their way with another man trailing behind him. The other man........... Lily was sure he looked very familiar........  
  
"Daddy!" Ashley squealed as she dropped her bags to give her dad a hug. The rest of the group smiled and watched as the other man walked over to them. "Sorry we took forever. Michael over there had never been to King's Cross before, so it took me a while to teach him how to get here," he explained in a tenor-baritone voice. He paused a moment upon seeing Lily, but then turned to the father-daughter scene.  
  
Camille leaned in towards Lily. "Do you know him?" Camille whispered. "No, but he looks awfully familiar. I can't nail it..........." Lily answered with a pained expression on her face.  
  
Jonathan smiled smugly. "I know who he is," he said proudly. Lily turned to Jonathan. "Then tell us who he is," she demanded. Jonathan smirked at her. "I'm not saying anything."  
  
Alaina looked at her big brother furiously. "Don't you even try to hide something from my best friend," Alaina warned through clenched teeth. Lily frowned. "Guys, we'll probably find out in a few minutes, I guess." She said as she sighed in resignation.  
  
"Lily, are you a Gryffindor or not? Honestly......... fine, it's Charles Potter, father of the infamous James Potter. Can't you see the resemblance between the two?" Jonathan pointed out. Lily though on it. James's prominent features were that he was tall, nearing six feet, had hazel eyes and messy black hair that stuck up in the back. His father surpassed James's height by two or three inches and his hair was dark brown instead of black. "Well, I must be still out of it....." Lily murmured in realization.  
  
Everyone proceeded out of the station and towards two taxis waiting for them outside. Once everyone settled into their seats, Michael took Ashley's hand. "Charles and I have to go back to the Ministry as it's a very busy time. You can take care of things from here, right honey? You're just driving over to the Leaky Cauldron, then using Floo Powder from there to get home."  
  
"There won't be any problems, I promise. See you tonight," Ashley confidently said, giving her dad one final hug.  
  
Due to snow, they reached the Leaky Cauldron in an hour and had to wait a half hour on a line to use the Floo Network. But Lily felt that it was absolutely worth it. Lily had visited Ashley two years ago, but the family estate never failed to put her in awe. It was a five-level, light blue mansion with a circular driveway, handsome brown polished entry doors, impressive Corinthian columns, and two semi-circular windows for every floor. And Ashley had a whole floor to herself. Fifteen minutes upon arrival, the girls all assembled into Ashley's bedroom, which was more than enough space for all of them. Alaina timidly followed Lily, since she didn't know the other girls very well and Jonathan had a room to himself.  
  
"Just leave your stuff here for now......... the house elves will come in while we're eating dinner," Ashley announced as she covered her growling stomach.  
  
Aruba gazed around the room's golden yellow walls and ceiling in amazement. "Who can think about dinner? Your room, your house of course, is lovely......" she said dreamily.  
  
Lily remembered that it was Aruba's first visit. "Don't you live in London? It's such a beautiful city," Lily asked in surprise.  
  
"Living in Grimmauld Place is no fun, especially when one lives two doors away from the Black family," Aruba sighed as she reluctantly followed the girls down to dinner.  
  
Camille gasped. "I've heard things about the Blacks. And I say it's no wonder Sirius acts the way he does. His family is very much into the dark arts and supports the idea of only letting purebloods attend Hogwarts."  
  
"And that's why Sirius is constantly here around break. The Potters live next door," Ashley pointed out, smirking at Lily.  
  
Lily sighed. "I know he's your neighbor........ he told me last night. I wonder why you didn't tell me the last time I visited?"  
  
A chorus of oohs erupted from the other girls, even from Alaina. "Lily Potter has a really nice sound to it, doesn't it? What a good match the two of them are!!!" Camille teased, as she knew James better than any of the other girls.  
  
Lily turned red in the cheeks, but didn't say a word.  
  
Nothing eventful happened again until the next morning, when Ashley's mother entered the dining room. She was a slightly plump petite woman with soft brown eyes and a dazzling smile. And at the moment, she had her long, coarse hair in tiny cornrow braids with highlights of red mixed in, a show of her Christmas festiveness. She was one of Lily's favorite adults; Lily was absolutely fascinated with the Jamaican accent she had managed to maintain and she had an exuberant, lively personality. One could never get depressed around her and if by strange occurrence one was, she'd cheer one back up in a minute, even without having to resort to magic.  
  
"Good morning, girls!" she greeted exuberantly, walking towards them.  
  
A chorus of hellos and greetings of Happy Christmas Eve went back to her. Ashley grinned. "Mother, you are hiding something from us.... I can tell by the look on your face......... is there something special we're doing tonight?"  
  
Mrs. Freedman bent down to kiss her daughter's forehead. "Perhaps. Where is that boy Jonathan? It has to do with those four boys in your year.... ..... Elena's son James is one of them."  
  
Lily suddenly lost her appetite as butterflies developed in her stomach. "They're next door, aren't they?" she asked. Groaning, she leaned back in her chair and covered her face with her hands to hide her blushing.  
  
Misunderstanding the situation, Camille turned to Lily. "Come on, Lily. Those boys aren't so bad. They are part of the reason why life is so interesting," she reasoned.  
  
But Lily only groaned louder and sank further more into her chair, the urge to run away building up. Perhaps it would be best to do that. However, she felt as though she were rooted to her seat and couldn't move. Her reaction to Camille's statement gave the other girls ideas other from what had really happened. But only one was brave to voice out her thoughts. "Lily!?! You two didn't...... do it..... did you??"  
  
Appalled at that thought, Lily sharply brought her head up. They thought that she and James had slept with each other???? It was a ridiculous thought, first of all. The night in the hospital wing was the first night they had ever slept in the same room and they slept in their own beds.  
  
Before she could protest though, Camille spoke again. "Okay, in two years' time, they'll get married and have three children........umm........ one will be a boy, then a girl, then a boy. Sirius will be the godfather of the first, Remus will be the godfather of the girl and Peter will be the godfather of the baby of the family. Lily's going to give birth to James's children!!!!!" she predicted excitedly to everyone else at the table. All the girls except Alaina and Mrs. Freedman burst into giggles.  
  
"Good morning everyone," Jonathan said, strolling into the room, still in his pajamas and messy morning hair. The giggles quieted down as the girls greeted Jonathan back.  
  
"Good morning Jonathan. Come now and eat breakfast," Mrs. Freedman greeted.  
  
"Well, that's what I'm here for," Jonathan chuckled as he took a seat next to Alaina.  
  
As he reached out for juice, he glanced over at Lily, who definitely was the least cheerful person at the table. Before he could ask anything, she stood up and ran up to Alaina's room.  
  
"Lily could use a cheering charm right about now; I hope she knew we were just joking." Aruba said worriedly.  
  
Mrs. Freedman shook her head. "She just needs some time alone. Then someone can go up and talk to her.......... Soon though. Elena Potter and the boys are coming over in five hours and the house needs to be prepared for our cozy little party. Lily ran three flights of stairs and locked herself in Ashley's room. Once inside, she sank down to the floor and curled up into a ball. Then she let the tears and sobs come. What kind of friends did she have? Them talking about she and James having children........ no...... that was too much. She wouldn't do that, despite what everyone else thought. But then again, there had been the night in the hospital wing....... And he had respected her for the most part. James Potter, acting somewhat mature? Yes, there was still hope. But honestly, Lily giving birth to his children? Further more, having relations with him????? Lily clenched her fists harder at the thought. She continued crying for the next half hour, until somebody softly knocked at the door.  
  
Lily's anger flared. "Go away, whoever you are! What kind of friend are you?"  
  
"The clueless friend. It's Jonathan.... You want to talk?" Jonathan consolingly offered on the other side of the door. It was true that Jonathan wasn't there when the others teased her, Lily thought as she wiped the tears away from her face. There was no doubt she looked like a mess.  
  
"Hey! I can just apparate!" Jonathan said suddenly. A second later, Jonathan was standing at Lily's side.  
  
"Good morning, Lily," he said solemnly with a small bow, hoping to make her smile. Lily instead broke into tears and threw herself on him to give a hug, grateful for his presence.  
  
Surprised by Lily's reaction, he nearly fell back. "Lily! Calm down....... Shhhh......" he said soothingly, holding her as she cried. Over the next hour and a half, Lily told Jonathan what happened that morning and what her thoughts and feelings were.  
  
"But you don't know what to think about James," Jonathan said as Lily finished her story.  
  
"Why are things between James and I the way they are?" Lily said, clearly distressed.  
  
"Lily, practically everybody who knows you thinks you're very admirable in all sorts of aspects. James has just gone a bit overboard. But honestly Lily, he's been like for the past four years, so I hear. Just try to see beyond what you know and perhaps you'll see an entirely different person in him." Jonathan softly suggested. He then looked down at Lily, who silently buried her head in his left shoulder, only moving to stifle her sobs.  
  
"Do you have something to tell your official unofficial brother?"  
  
Amidst the sobs, Jonathan could sworn he heard Lily laugh a little. Okay, he had made some improvement. Lily's body tensed up as if preparing to say something, but moments later, her body relaxed.  
  
"May I tell you later? I think that taking a walk by myself will do me some good right now," Lily said a minute or so later, drawing her head off Jonathan's shoulder. Jonathan tried to look at Lily straight in the eye, but she was looking out one of the windows that gave a view of Ashley's backyard. Jonathan silently sighed. He didn't feel like waiting, but that's what Lily wanted. "Sure, I can wait."  
  
Twenty minutes later, Lily stepped out onto the front steps of Ashley's home. Already, her mind began to clear, which she wanted it to do. Yesterday's snowstorm had been cleared off the roads and now large mounds of white, glistening snow were scattered along the two front lawns on the street. Every so often, as Lily wandered away from Ashley's home, a gentle wind would blow, causing snowflakes to dance through the air in a show that never failed to take Lily's breath away. It was also very quiet; she only heard the wind and her own soft footsteps on the road. What had happened two nights ago with James........ she had gotten into the same bed as him, he didn't touch her despite the fact that it was quite impossible to do so as the beds weren't built to hold two teenagers.... And..... it actually had been kind of fun talking to him. She had felt safe, she could perhaps trust him......  
  
Suddenly, she was aware that the wind and her footsteps weren't the only ones she heard. She was quite sure she had heard another pair of footsteps behind her. Taking a glance behind her shoulder, she didn't see anybody, but she already knew who it was. Slowly she turned around and gazed straight ahead. After a few seconds, she took two steps forward and reached her arms up until she felt a fabric brush softly against her fingers. Sensing that she had found the hood, she tugged it back. James's hazel eyes looked down at the young woman standing in front of him. He was relieved to see Lily smiling. Christmas Eve was not an ideal day to die.  
  
James let out a laugh as he proceeded to take off the rest of the invisibility cloak. 'You have really sharp sense, Lily," he said amusedly.  
  
Now it was Lily's turn to laugh. "You take any chance you have to use that invisibility cloak of yours and I know that you came here either late last night or this morning. And, you're the only person I know that owns an invisibility cloak."  
  
James grinned. Besides having sharp senses, she had a quick mind. God, he loved that about her. "Oh, Happy Christmas Eve by the way," James greeted.  
  
"Same to you."  
  
Lily then took note that James wasn't wearing a winter coat. Wasn't he cold? She was all bundled up, and yet was shivering a little. "You should go home, James. It's no fun being sick over the holidays, trust me," Lily advised.  
  
James shook his head. "I'm in no rush to go home, and I'm not cold either."  
  
Lily laughed in disbelief. "You are insane!!!" Wanting to check for herself, she took off one of her gloves and grabbed one of James's hands. James had to restrain himself from laughing as Lily examined his warm hand. "The invisibility cloak was rather warm, and it hasn't worm off yet," James explained, looking down at Lily's hand with his. Sighing, he clasped his hand around hers.  
  
"It is you who should be heading back over. Your hands are like ice," James noted.  
  
Lily blushed at the gesture, but shook her head. "What I really need to do right now is take a walk. It's been working well for me so far."  
  
James pondered on that for a moment. Yes, walks were always good, but there were other things that worked better. "How about you come over to my house for a while? Everyone's still sleeping and I could use some help waking Sirius, Remus and Peter up. I think laughing will do you much better than a walk........ don't get me wrong though; walks are good too," he offered, although he knew that more than likely she would say no. Lily, however, politely consented.  
  
James's order in waking up his fellow Marauders: Peter (extremely easy) Remus ( a bit difficult) Sirius (practically impossible)  
  
Waking the guys up was almost always amusing. As James and Lily approached the Potter household, James let go of Lily's hand. Lily could hear a babbling voice coming from the front door, but she couldn't see anybody. James rushed over to the door and hastily put his hands over a gold knocker on the door. "Bloody hell Jeremy! Keep quiet!" James said harshly.  
  
Who was Jeremy?  
  
"Ouch! D—n it Jeremy, that hurt!" James yelled as he nursed his wound. Concerned, Lily ran over to James to inspect what had happened. James's hand had several teeth marks all around the center of his palm. Lily's eyes fell upon the knocker, which had the image of a butler who looked amazing real. Jeremy's eyes settled on Lily, now noticing her. "Ah Master James! You've brought home a female!" Jeremy said delightedly. He focused his attention on Lily. "Just to let you know, I hear that the Potter men like it rough!"  
  
Lily gasped in disgust and James angrily whipped out his wand. "You'll regret that you had said that!" James threatened.  
  
Jeremy merely chuckled. "Underage wizards are not allowed to use magic off school grounds," Jeremy said defendingly.  
  
James's voice hardened. "Just to let you know, I'm no longer underage. I've been seventeen for quite a while." Jeremy scowled and the front door opened. James pocketed his wand and curtly nodded. "Thank you, Jeremy," he said, regaining some of his composure.  
  
James gestured for Lily to enter. Lily shot a nasty look at Jeremy before entering the house. Lily turned sharply towards James once inside. "What in the heck was with that?" she demanded. James tried to not look startled by her sudden question. "All I know is that he's been around for a couple of generations. My great-grandfather was the only one who was able to control Jeremy. Unfortunately, nobody knows how he did it. I'll have to admit though...... I think that's the first comment of that nature that he's ever said," James confessed.  
  
After handing Lily's coat, scarf, and mittens to a house elf, James led Lily upstairs. Lily glanced around as they walked up the polished wooden stairs. And she thought the Freedman residence was beautiful. Maybe it was the fact that James's house had belonged to the family for generations, but it had a much more cozy, warm atmosphere. In truth, it was reminiscent of Hogwarts with portraits of family members and ancestors all over the walls. Lucky for Lily and James, a majority of the people featured within the portraits were still sleeping. At the top of the stairway, there was a magnificent chandelier with perhaps hundreds of teardrop crystals and candlesticks hanging.  
  
James turned to Lily upon reaching the top and saw that her gaze was transfixed on the chandelier above them. "Lily," he called gently.  
  
Reluctantly, Lily broke her gaze away from the sparkling crystals and looked at James. An apologetic look appeared on her face. "I'm sorry; I couldn't help it........ I've been here for a few minutes and it's all very interesting......"  
  
James shook his head. "No, it's alright. Most people who've visited before have had the same reaction. Peter's mum, when she first visited four years ago, she couldn't stop looking at the chandelier. She eventually fell back and tumbled down the stairs. Yeah.......... That was New Years' Eve...... we spent New Years Day at St. Mungo's, keeping Mrs. Pettigrew company while the healers took care of her," James said, not even trying to hide his laughter.  
  
Lily raised an eyebrow. She didn't think that was very funny, but it was probably one of the moments where you had to witness it for yourself. Then she noticed that a serious expression appeared on James's face. Changing subject, he motioned for Lily to follow him. "I need to get some things from my room to wake these guys up."  
  
As Lily followed James through the east corridor, she wondered why she had followed James at all. She could have easily told him that she would have preferred to just go back to the Freedman residence. Surely, something amusing was going on there. After all, a party would be held later on in the afternoon...........  
  
Humiliation rushed through Lily's body as she stopped short in the corridor. She had completely forgotten...... and she still needed to talk to her friends and Jonathan and get ready for the party. At the same time though, it would be rude to leave James so suddenly.  
  
What to do, what to do.....  
  
James stopped walking and opened the door to his bedroom. James's bedroom was clean for the most part, except for his Hogwarts and Quidditch uniforms, carelessly lying on his four-poster bed. As James walked over to his desk to look for something, he glanced back at Lily, who was hesitantly standing at the doorway. "Lily, if we're going to get any work done, then you'd better get over here," James said to her, turning away from the desk drawer he was rummaging through.  
  
Lily tore her eyes away from a family portrait positioned directly across from James's bed and looked at James crossly. "The only reason why I came here was for some amusement, which you recommended. You're the only one of the two of us who will be waking up your best friends," she answered as lightly as possible.  
  
James was surprised by the sudden change in Lily's mood. What had just happened?  
  
"Well, come in and close the door behind you at the very least," he suggested. He really wasn't up to arguing at the moment. A few seconds later, James heard the door click closed and Lily approaching him from behind.  
  
"So, how do you wake up your best friends?" Lily asked, glancing down at James's drawers of miscellaneous objects. James let out a small laugh. "All Peter needs is a good kick. Kicking him anywhere works well since he's a light sleeper. Remus...... Peter and I usually drag him out into the hallway, but I think we're going to have to do something more than that this time. Food is the best way to wake Sirius up. But since he's such a heavy sleeper, it's going to take a lot of food to wake him up." James pulled out several long pieces of string from a drawer and wrapped them around one of his hands. "After waking up Remus, I'm going to have to take a trip down to the kitchens to get food. If I used the Summoning Charm to get the food, my mother would throw a fit," he added.  
  
Lily frowned. "So fearless at school, yet when you're at home, you're afraid of your own mother......" James shook his head. "You don't EVER want to see my mother mad."  
  
"You wouldn't like to see your best friends mad either, Prongs," a voice spoke from behind the two of them.  
  
Lily whirled around and saw Sirius standing at James's doorway, which was now open. Remus and Peter were standing. James laughed as he turned around to face his best friends. "Of course I don't like to see you lot mad. I like to see you lot awake."  
  
Sirius grinned. "Do you remember the last time you tried to wake us up?"  
  
Remus, Peter and James all broke into laughs. "That was the best snowball fight ever! Of course, none of you were good enough to beat me, no matter how furious you were!" James declared.  
  
A broad smile spread on Lily's face.... She could feel a challenge coming on. "Okay then, James, you've got yourself a challenge!"  
  
James turned to Lily, who he'd forgotten once his best friends entered the room. "Sorry?"  
  
"I've had my snowball fights as well and just to let you know, I've never been defeated."  
  
"Is that so?"  
  
Lily nodded, trying to look as intimidating as possible. Which was not a very easy thing to pull on James Potter.  
  
James stared back at her for a couple of moments determinedly, then ran towards her. Lily let out a small squeal and ran past the other Marauders and out the door, James following not too far behind. 


End file.
